


Hooves of the Heart

by KillJoy_Juniper



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Angst, Character Death (Major Character label is debatable), Falling In Love, First Love, First Time, Horses, Lots of WTF, Love, Love at First Sight, M/M, Oral Sex, Yaoi, lots of horse stuff, more horses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-29
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-04-23 23:35:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 62,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4896586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KillJoy_Juniper/pseuds/KillJoy_Juniper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story of Levi and Erwin falling in love. </p><p>This is my first story and I hope you guy enjoy <3</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bitches Get Stitches

 

Levi had always found horses the easiest to work with, they weren’t people and, therefore, did not annoy him as much as the rest of his fellow humans did. He worked in a stable that provided service to the military after not being able to stick to school as a younger child; his orphanage didn’t really care too much for the forgotten children to have education. He found that he had a weird understanding for the four-legged creatures, unlike he had for any other kind of animal, finding them very charming and very stubborn, much like himself.

Levi began his morning by feeding up, and making sure the horses’ stalls were cleaned while they nursed the fields before the break of the afternoon. This particular day, however, the stalls had been mostly empty due to the early morning move out of a few units, taking out the entire herd. He walked through the empty hallways to the stall of his own mare, lucky enough that the stable owner appreciated his work enough to let him have one of his own. It had been a while since he had a free day and he intended to spend it with her.

The dark black mare heard him coming from a mile away and stuck her head out of the open stall top, as was her normal behavior every morning when she was being fed. He took a clutch of her long black-red mane and tugged on it. She gave a low nicker and shoved her head into his stomach, shifting him on his feet. The mare weighed a good 1900 pounds – plump for her Friesian breed – and lifted his feet off the ground when she connected to his body, which was an easy feat for him being such a small person. He opened the door and began to walk away, the mare following closely in toe, her hooves making loud _clops_ against the ground.

The mare pranced past him, knowing exactly where they were headed. Levi always bathed the mare before taking her out, having a thing for everything being as clean as possible. This was another reason he was one of the longest surviving workers at the stable, he never needed to be asked to clean things twice. The mare perched herself near the water pump and waited for the man to catch up. Knowing they were the only ones around, Levi was not afraid to strip down to his old black riding tights, his normal uniform for work, but these were tattered and torn, worn thin by years of work. Levi took off his tall boots, placing them to the side of the building, and folding his shirt above them.

“Let me get the soap.” He smirked as the mare shook the dust from her coat. He ducked into the tack room and grabbed a large bottle of horse shampoo and an extending wire brush. He tucked them under his bare arm and sauntered out, closing the door behind him. The tall mare already had the hose between her teeth, saving Levi from having to hold that also. He smiled and bent down to turn on the water.

The water gushed from the hose, it’s cold temperature feeling nice on the hot day. Levi balanced the bottle on the mare’s rump and placed both hands as high on her back as he could reach before making a hard jump, hoisting himself onto the mare’s back with nimble ease. He pushed himself forward to get himself settled before reaching for the hose. He soaked the horses back, as well as himself, feeling his body break out in goosebumps. He put the hose across the mare’s withers and ruffled his hair, feeling the bangs fall back into place and small droplets start to drip from his undercut.

“That shit’s cold, I’m sorry.” He soothed as the mare shivered and gave a quick shake, nearly making him slide off of her back.

He poured soap over the front of the mare and began to scrub her; as soon as he was satisfied with how lathered her coat was, he twisted himself and began to do the same to her rump. The became a daunting task when he realized how long her tail had gotten, pulling it all into his lap to give it a good scrub. The mare was already enjoying herself, going into a resting stance and letting her eyes fall closed. He laid flat against the mares back to pick at a particularly rough spot on the back of her leg when he suddenly felt her twitch. He began to pick himself up when the mare suddenly jolted sideways. He then flipped of her back as she rose to a rear.

“Goddamnit, Heichou!” Levi snarled as his head and hip connected with the cobblestone under the mare’s feet. He heard her scream as her hooves reconnected with the ground, taking a step back, nearly trampling him. “Heichou! Fuck a – stop moving!”

The mare was releasing shuddering breathes as she froze, hearing him call to her. He then gingerly touched her back legs to let her know he was there. He crawled up, feeling a hot liquid drip to his shoulder, blood from his head. He looked up at the mare, whose ears were pinned slick back on her head, toward a blonde man who was sitting on the ground with a rip in his sleeve. He was breathing heavily and was half way strapped into a military uniform, brown leather straps still hanging near his thighs.

“What the fuck, do you not know not to go barreling through a stable. What the fuck is your problem?” Levi asked he placed an arm across the horse’s broad chest to settle her down. The blonde haired man blushed, though still trying to catch his breath.

“I just…I–I need a horse!” He tried to pick himself up but faltered when Heichou dipped her head and squealed in his direction.

“Hey, hey, settle down.” Levi soothed her, picking the hose back up off of the ground and jumping back onto the back of his horse. “I can’t help you with that, it’s not my job.”

Levi let the water run over his head, flinching as the water came into contact with the open wound; he hissed and flicked his attention back to the man, who could barely be any older than himself. The guy was just, now, standing there and looking at him in confusion. Levi then realized that not only was he half naked, but he was also soaked to the core, his body covered with clear and white suds.

“Oi, I said it’s not my job, go talk to the stable manager, I can’t give you a horse. You’ve also already caused me enough trouble, I now have to make an extra trip into town to get my head looked at, you fucking prick.” He spoke the last part quietly, as not to be as disrespectful as he was obviously being.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” He laid down is bag and took a slow step toward the pair, “Here, let me take a look.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Levi started, feeling the blood begin to trickle down his back. He rinsed it off.  “I need to finish up here, I don’t want to catch a cold or anything. Again, the manager can help you with the horse problem.”

“Please, it’s the least I can do. I already missed formation and the ride out, I have probably missed the whole day of training anyway.” The blonde raised his busy eyebrows and blushed a little bit more.

“The horses aren’t due back until dusk at the latest and it isn’t even noon yet.” Levi pressed on the hose to make the stream come out with more pressure. He sprayed the mare and washed the suds off of her coat. He then jumped down gingerly, feeling a bit dizzy as he connected with the ground. “I’m sure you’d – shit.”

The blonde stepped forward to catch him as his steps faltered and Heichou huffed a warning breath, slightly twisting toward the pair. The blonde stood his ground this time, surprising the horse, making her pin her ears and bare her teeth. Levi soothed her again and braced himself before shaking off the man’s arms.

_He’s warm…_

“I’m sure you’d make it.” Levi then looked up to notice how remarkably tall the man was compared to him and he suddenly felt as if he had been completely naked, bare to the world.

_God, just go ask for a damn horse already._

“Please, let me look at your head.” Levi was twisted without having time to argue. “I’m Erwin, by the way.”

“Levi,” He said softly, flinching and hissing as he was prodded. He looked over to see the mare shaking herself dry, realizing he was still standing there in soaked, worn pants, the small breeze bringing goosebumps up on his thighs and arms.

“You will need stitches; you don’t need to post pone that either. Come into town, the least I can do is pay for that.” Erwin backed away from Levi, spotting what could only be his boots a shirt a few feet away. The mare had wandered off to gnaw on a patch of grass a couple feet away. He retrieved them and held them out sheepishly, then digging in his bag to get a cloth out, pressing it forward into Levi’s hands as well. “For your head.”

Levi pulled the shirt onto his head and the boots to his feet before whistling to Heichou; she trotted over to him and he gave a weak attempt to jump onto her back, but got dizzy again and failed. The mare nickered at him and began to bend her front legs, bringing her chest down toward the ground. He grimaced, he just washed her and now she was going to be dirty again, but the mare sensed his dismay and did not let her chest touch the dirt below.

“I’ll get the tack.” Erwin turned toward the barn.

“Heichou doesn’t wear tack.” Levi stated as he climbed onto her back, clicking at her to stand up as he settled himself.

“The horse’s name is Corporal?” Erwin asked, giving a smirk, which as quickly wiped off his face as the mare lunged at him with a quick snap of her jaw. “Shit!”

“Got a problem with my horse’s name? You can fucking walk then.” He pushed the mare forward with his ankles, holding the towel to his head.

“Wait, please, I’m sorry, it just fits her. You are going to have a hard time balancing, does she double?” Levi stopped the mare.

“She can, but you have to hop on, and be gentle. If she bucks me off, I will make sure you do not get horse.” Levi was slightly aggravated by the boy, but also a little charmed by how gentle the giant was being.

This was one of the first times Levi had really had a conversation with another person his age that didn’t refer to how they wanted their horse boarded or how to the wanted them worked, and it was kind of nice. Provided the only reason this guy was speaking to him was because Levi was injured and he needed a horse to get to his training. Levi felt the man gingerly land behind him and he scooted more toward Heichou’s neck to give the broad man plenty of room, but he just felt the man press up against his small frame, causing him to blush for a reason he did not fully understand.

“So, we can leave the stable yard and then take the first left, and then–,” Levi interrupted him and pushed the mare forward, taking a grasp of her mane with his free hand.

“You can just tell her how to get there, she isn’t stupid.” Levi grumbled, concentrating on how hard hi head was hurting.

“Oh, right, sorry.” Erwin said in a hushed tone, reaching back to brace himself against the mare’s rump.

The walk there was rather quite, and oddly tense if you were to have asked Levi. He and his horse were known rather well around town, but they did get sideways glanced from the people of the town when they noticed an extra passenger atop the mare’s back. The only time anything was said was when Erwin spoke up to tell the mare when to turn. Levi was confused as to why he felt the need to both pull away from the man behind him but to lean back against him at the same time, none of it made any sense. 

_This feeling is really weird. I don’t get it. My fucking head hurts. Of all days for him to come running through the yard it had to be today, on one of my day off. Then I have to get him a damn horse when we get done here._

He clutched harder at the mare’s mane and he gave a soft nicker, bringing him back to the earth. They had stopped and Erwin had already slipped down off the mare’s back and was staring at Levi. Levi shook his head slightly and joined Erwin on the ground. He unwound a thin chain from around his boot and roped it around the mare’s neck. There were very few rouge horses that roamed the city, and his was one that everyone knew, but he didn’t take any chances with his horse not being identifiable.

“Stay close, my dove.” Levi felt the mare press her head again his back, softly. “I’ll be okay, I’m just going inside. I know it’s a strange place but I’ll be fine. Please behave yourself.”

Erwin knocked on the door and opened it, letting himself in first, to address himself. A woman popped out from the back, her hair was brown and she had glassed pushed up her nose, a smile on her face as she came forward to embrace the tall man.

“Ahh, Erwin, not doing the training today? Did you come to join me in my studies today?” The woman gave an evil giggle, her glasses sliding down her nose.

“I actually missed formation this morning.” He gave a small, forced laugh and scratched at his blonde undercut that lay just below his mop of hair. “I actually need your help, Hange. I scared a horse and knocked one of Mr. Lake’s stable hands off; his head got cracked open pretty bad and he’s kinda bleeding everywhere.”

“Jesus, Erwin.” Hange pushed past him until she was in front of Levi, pulling him to the back without giving him a moment to say anything. She helped him onto a bench and went to his back, dawning a pair of gloves. She removed the soaked cloth and grimaced. “Sorry, kid, this is going to hurt.”

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

                Of all days, Erwin had to pick today to miss formation, run into a stable yard, and injure an innocent kid, well, man. He was obviously Erwin’s age but looked fragile enough to be a child, but strong enough to control that monster of a horse outside, which was an amazing feat on its own. Erwin cringed when he heard Levi’s sounds of pain coming from the other room, he was too embarrassed to stay in the room with them.

_I hope that Hange can fix this guy._

“Fuck a duck, woman, shit.” Levi exclaimed, Erwin hearing Hange growl at the boy.

“Hold still, you damn pansy. I can’t do a clean fucking job if you don’t buck the fuck up and hold still.” Erwin then stood up and lingered at the corner of the room.

 _There has to be something I can do._ Erwin thought, as he felt the sudden urge to leap forward and grasp the man’s hands as he watched skinny tears stream down his face, his pain more obvious that he probably wanted it to be. _Maybe I can distract him._

Erwin pulled a chair up in front if the table and sat, now a little lower than eye level with the boy. His pants were still visibly damp but Erwin put his hands on the smaller man’s knees anyway, causing him to look in his direction. Erwin was suddenly caught in the gaze of the man’s – _Levi’s –_ slate grey eyes, not noticing how _beautiful_ they were until now.

“What do you want?” Levi stammered out, in between chokes of pain, clenching his eyes shut.

“T-tell me about Heichou.”

“What? What do you–,” Levi opened one eye to look at Erwin.

“She is beautiful and very well trained, much as if she were like a sister. Where did you find such a precious beast?” Erwin gave him a soft smile.

Lei could not resist talking about the pride of his life, and the blue eyes of the soldier almost pulled the answer from his lungs. He took a moment to gather himself and relax, pulling his thought together.

“S-she was abandoned by her mother as a newborn, she belonged to one of the high priests’ prized mares and they dropped her off near the stable when she was just a few days old; that was about seven years ago, when I was twelve. I was already – fuck,” Hange pulled the skin together pretty hard.

“Sorry, you must have hit a rock when you landed, this wound is deep. That’s why you couldn’t get the bleeding to stop.” Levi caught his breath again and Erwin clutched his knees softly, small compared to the large hands. Levi blushed before continuing.

“I was already working at the stables, had been for about a year, and so I took her to one of our nursing military brood mares, and she was accepted alongside the other foal. I asked the stable manager if I could keep her because she obviously couldn’t be used for military purposes, she wasn’t the right breed or anything.” He winced again, a small tear rolling down his face. “He said I could keep her, but she was added as part of the dues I owed every month, which was fine, she was worth it. We grew up together, well, more so her than myself.”

“Why did you name her Heichou?” Erwin looked back at Hange and she gave a nod of her head, signaling for him to keep going. Erwin, however, found himself particularly interested in the rest of the story.

“It was Corporal Pixis’ mare, at the time, that took her in, and it seemed fitting. We also get along pretty well. He tips me every time his one of his mares foals well or whenever she looks particularly well groomed.” Levi smirked, the nostalgia hitting him a little. “She soon out grew all the other horses.”

“So, why no tack?” Erwin smiled at the comment earlier and the show as the horse bent down for Levi to mount.

“She’s too fat, and tack is expensive even if she wasn’t. Plus, her back is pretty broad so she is a comfortable ride.” Levi did not notice that Hange had already finished and was sanitizing her equipment. Erwin was happy his plan had worked, he patted Levi’s knees and that caught his attention. “Oh, is she done?”

“Yea, she’s done. Thanks, Hange, you saved our skins, big time.” The woman turned around and smiled a big, toothy grin at the young men.

“No problem. It’s part of my job.” She did a list inspection of the wound before putting a bandage on it and wrapped a thin layer of gauze around Levi’s head. “I didn’t catch you name, kid. I’m Hange, as you may have caught already. Also, sorry for the lack of anesthetic, it isn’t really something I keep at home.”

“Levi, and it’s no problem. I’ve set my own bones before; horses kick pretty hard. It’s no biggie.” He hopped off of the table and slowly walked around to gain his bearings again.

“Hardcore, I like it. Ever thought of joining the ranks?”

“That’s enough, Hange.” Erwin ushered the boy toward the door at that moment. “She tries to recruit everyone. It’s like she doesn’t stitch enough people up when we train, much less when we return from a mission.”

“It’s okay, that’s not really my thing. The conditions of the horses are enough to turn me off about it.”

“You seem to know a lot about them.” Erwin was planning on engaging the man a little more if he could, he was rather interested in him.

 _I hope he doesn’t hate me._ Erwin was unsure as to why he hoped this man didn’t hate him. He did know, though, that he wanted to spend more time with him, unable to pull himself away. He would take the consequences of missing formation and gear practice today. He closed the door behind him, giving Hange one more nod in thanks.

Levi was still a little dizzy from the loss of blood and squinted as the afternoon sun shone in his eyes; he looked around for his horse and gave a few clicks of his tongue. The mare came trotting around the corner with an exciting squeal coming from her nose. Erwin didn’t know what to call it, but he was sure Levi did and that made him smile.

 _What is this feeling?_ Erwin put his hand on his stomach and felt a small flutter in his chest as he watched the smaller man coo and speak to the horse in a comforting voice. The animal was obviously excited to see her master was okay; Erwin was sure of this when he felt a huff on his hand, pulling him from his trans.

“Erwin? Hello, Earth to Erwin.” Levi was staring at him with an eyebrow raised.

“Huh, what? I’m sorry, I wasn’t…sorry. What?” He was sure he was blushing because he knew Levi had caught him staring. He reached out to pat the mare’s muzzle.

“So, do get going or do you want to grab something to eat? I’m a little dizzy.”

 _You’ve lost a ton of blood, of course you’re dizzy._ Erwin chuckled and rubbed the back of his hair to attempt at a cover up of the embarrassment.

“Lunch sounds great, want a pork sandwich or something?” He watched Levi’s eyes move around in thought.

“Anywhere where I can get some tea would be awesome.” Levi climbed on the back of Heichou and slid forward, the action coming naturally, as if he’d been doing it for years to make room for the larger man. Levi blushed a little but tried to shake it off as Erwin slipped on behind him, this time he actually pressed up against Levi.

 _I-I don’t want him to fall off or anything._ Erwin though, snaking an arm around Levi’s waist, placing a hand on his thigh, feeling the now dry pants under his hand. He, strangely, did not feel Levi tense up.

“I’m sorry, is this too personal? I know we just met and all.” Erwin said sheepishly.

“Ugh, no that’s fine. I don’t want to fall off or anything. Heichou wouldn’t be happy about that, would you, dove?”

The horse snorted in return and Erwin almost thought he saw the smaller man smile, something he hadn’t seen yet. It was a beautiful smile. Heichou pushed forward, joining in with the crowd of people and carts, headed back toward the stables. She knew where Levi liked his tea from the best, at least, that’s what Erwin got from her not listening to his directions. She stopped about a block from the stables and poked her head into the window of the small coffee shop. He heard a voice call out.

“Well, I’ll be, and who is this pretty lady looking through my window? And she brought such a beautiful afternoon with her too.” An elderly lady looked out the window and smiled at Levi. “Well, good afternoon, mister and misses Ackerman!”

_This keeps getting cuter by the second._

“Hello, Mrs. Drake, how is everything going today?” Levi didn’t really smile at the woman, but his greeting was one all the same.

“Good, and how can I help you today? Who is your new friend? And what on Earth happened to your head?” She placed her hands on her hips, though they were hidden by the wall.

“We came for some tea and some lunch. This is Erwin, he came by the stables today and scared my girl, and then she dropped me and I bumped my head. But it’s no big deal; I’m doing okay.” Levi played with the bandage.

“Ahh, if you say so, young man.” She dipped behind the counter for a few minutes and came back with a saddle bag and handed it to the pair. “On the house today, boys. Now, run along and behave yourselves.”

Erwin was about to speak out in protest when the woman tapped the horse’s face with a carrot stem and pushed her off before giving the vegetable to the mare. Levi thanked her and she waved them on. They made their way back to the stables, taking a look into the bag to find two baked potatoes, two pork sandwiches, an apple, and a new box of tea with two steaming cups already brewing in the bottom of the bag. They dished it out and came to the courtyard of the stables.

 _Well, I guess this is my time to go._ Erwin frowned when he realized he would have let the man go before sliding off the mare, but he was surprised when Levi didn’t ask her to stop.

“We actually don’t have any horses left today, the remaining ones are a little under the weather. I’ll give you a lift to the training site.” Levi looked over his shoulder, maybe expecting Erwin to protest, wanting his own horse. “I-if that’s okay?”

Erwin could slowly feel himself falling for this stranger, and it was the hardest he had ever fell before in his life, and even more so, he was unsure why he was falling. He felt his grip on the boy’s leg go away, but only to grab his tea and sandwich from the bag that was hanging around the horse’s neck in front of Levi.

“Yea, that sounds fine.” Erwin smiled at him and could have sworn he saw a small twinkle in the steel eyes before they turned around to face forward, sipping on the tea.

Erwin made sure to finish his sandwich and tea as soon as he could so he could wrap his around the small man’s frame again, even though he was pretty sure the food was already bringing Levi’s balance back.

“So, how old are you?” Erwin asked, hoping it wasn’t too intrusive.

“Ugh, nineteen; I’ll be 20 in December.” Levi looked over his shoulder. “You?”

“Twenty-two; twenty-three in October.” Erwin was happy to be learning new information about the man he was clutching to, although he didn’t think he needed to know anything about him to clutch him tighter.

They eventually made it to the training spot, taking them about an hour, even with Heichou galloping a bit. When they arrived the Scouts had already had their 3DM gear on for quite some time; this being apparent from the numerous empty air can piled in a wagon. The squad captain for the day, Pixis, heard the boys coming and took long strides to meet them before Erwin could really be within sight of the busy soldiers.

“Smith!” Erwin had already removed his arm from Levi, dropping off of the mare and took his stance, striking a salute and then becoming still. “Get enough beauty rest today?”

“Sir, yes, sir.”

“Well, apparently not, son! You look a fucking mess!” Erwin was unmoved by the shouts coming from the older man. He shouted a bit more before turning back to Levi. “I see my friend Levi here was nice enough to bring you to training, regardless of having a day off. And what seems to be going on with his head?”

“It was –,” Erwin began, taking a breath.

“I hit my head this morning. I was giving Heichou a bath and slipped off.” Levi reached up to adjust the hair in his eyes. “Erwin was detained because he was helping me get some medical attention. I am sorry, sir. It will not happen again. What can I do to make up for detaining him?”

Pixis made a face of nonbelief at the story but was already tired from training since dawn. He looked at Erwin, still holding his stance, and then back to Levi who was perched on the back of the tall mare. Pixis then gave a chuckled, waving the boys off.

“I know you boys came all this way, but Erwin cannot be here because he missed formation this morning.” He turned back to Levi. “Would you mind taking him back? Erwin, you will face the consequences later tonight, when you spend all night cleaning the barracks while the others sleep in an inn tonight. Then, tomorrow, you will clean the inn instead of going to training. Is that clear?”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“What was that? Do you not appreciate what I gave you?”

“Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!”

Pixis huffed, returning to the scouts, and he was long out of range before Erwin let his breath out. He turned and remounted the mare, pressing himself against Levi and placing his arm back in its place. This time, however, he could have sworn he felt the man lean back onto his chest, even for just a second. Levi clutched the mane of the mare and sent her galloping back toward town, this time taking a detour about half way back.

“Where are going?” Erwin asked, having a hard time staying seated, afraid that is he fell he would pull the boy down with him. Levi felt the clutch tighten and slowed the mare down.

“Heichou likes to graze in this wild wheat pasture that grow next to this waterfall out here. I always bring her out when we have a day off. It’s been about a month since we last had a chance to come out.” Heichou tossed her head happily and trotted toward their destination.

 _I ruined his day, the only one he’s had to himself in a while._ Erwin let his head drop a little bit, and Levi noticed this. Levi shifted about half way to look at Erwin.

“Hey, but no worries it’s fine, “He smiled back at Erwin, sending butterflies through the man’s core. “We get to show a new friend our hiding spot.”

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

                The watering hole came up upon them pretty fast, especially when Heichou smelled the wheat, as she always did when they came within range, invoking a spring in her step; she began to gallop her way straight to the water and the wheat. Levi was still trying to recover from the blush that Erwin got when he smiled at him, something he didn’t even realize he had done. He was worried that Erwin would feel his stomach doing flips inside his body, but if he did he wasn’t saying anything. As Heichou found a good grazing area, Levi slid off her back, Erwin following him. He removed the saddle bag and hug it over the thick branch of a nearby tree, knowing the mare would swim at some point today.

                “Wanna take a dip with me?” Levi said softly, as he began to remove his shirt, folding it before putting in the bag; he would leave on his riding pants because he had nothing on underneath them.

                “S-sure, that sounds good.” Erwin tried not to let his hands visibly shake when Levi removed his uniform. He could now clearly see the muscled tone of the smaller man’s body, pale yet lightly tanned at the same time. He could see why the boy could jump on the back of the mare so easily.

                _I really want to kiss his shoulders; his head too._ Erwin gasped at his own thought, but Levi didn’t notice. He finished removing all of his clothes except for the pair of tan tights he wore under his uniform pants, providing padding against the straps of his gear; the pants expended down to his ankles when Levi’s shorts only went to his knees.

                _Why do I have to be so damn pale, it’s embarrassing. His skin is so beautiful…_ Levi shifted his thoughts back the water, leaning over the edge. He took in a breath and jumped off of the edge, diving into the water about twenty feet below. He thought he head Erwin call after him but he was all too soon enveloped in the cold liquid, hearing a big splash in the water near him. He came back up with a breath.

                The waterfall somehow came out from under the mountainous hill, and Levi did not know where the water came from, but all he knew was that it was the clearest and coldest water in the land. I have rocks under them but no fish in sight, just water and plants. He felt a warm body come up behind him and push against his back, he gasped a little louder than he realized.

                “Oh, sorry…I, uh, wanted to check and make sure the bandage held. These things aren’t supposed to get wet.” Erwin gentle checked the bandage for any bleeding spots but found none.

                This amount of personal contact was not something Levi was used to, but it felt so comforting, in a way that he never wanted it to go away and that scared him a little. He had never really had someone to depend on since before he could remember; Erwin’s body being so close made him feel so safe and so welcomed; he never wanted this warmth to go away. He knew these feelings were ones that could ruin his newly found friendship and ruin Erwin’s career, provided Erwin even wanted to act upon them, something that Levi highly doubted.

                Erwin found the bandages to be intact but he couldn’t pull himself away from the shorter man. He snaked his arm around his waist, feeling Levi stop kicking to keep himself above the water where Erwin stood. Levi took in a shaky breath but placed his hands on Erwin’s arms, clutching to them tightly. Erwin took this as a sign and pulled Levi closer into his body, pushing his face into his neck, breathing in Levi’s smell.

                _He is so warm…I hope–I hope he never lets me go._ Levi had never felt this much emotion build up in his chest before, it was a little confusing, and a little uncomfortable. He had never felt this kind of a hold before, but he had seen couples exchange them before, these were loving gestures. Love was an emotion new to Levi, at least new to be given by another human being. He felt as though the moment Erwin let him go, he would break apart and dissolve into the water; it was a terrifying feeling. He felt his chest shake, and felt a warm tear fall from his eyes. He was crying, but he wasn’t sad; this feeling, being held by this bigger man, was the best feeling he had ever felt in his life.

                Erwin felt Levi’s chest move, scared he had hurt the man. He turned Levi around in his arms, looking at his face. He gasped as he saw the slate gray eyes brimming red and the tears rushing down his cheeks.

                “Fuck, did I hurt you? Do you not like me touching you? God, I am so sorry!” Erwin instantly released his hold on Levi’s body, and the man suddenly cried out.

                “No, please!” Levi threw his arms around Erwin’s neck, feeling the arms crash down back around him.

                “What? Is everything–,” Levi spoke before Erwin could finish.

                “Please, Erwin,” Levi’s grasp tightened as if to pull himself deeper into the large man’s chest. “Please, don’t let me go, please. Erwin, please, don’t ever let go.”

                “Levi…” Erwin felt his breath hitch in his throat. He lifted the man’s chin so he could see his face.

                “Erwin, I’m sorry, I–,” Levi began to breathe out an apology, a shocked look stretching acros his face, when Erwin suddenly brought their lips together, surprising them both as they melted into each other’s kiss.

                Erin walked over a small ledge on the cave wall and placed Levi on it, never letting the man go for second, in fact he pulled him as close as possible, deepening the kiss. They soon lost breathe and had to pull away for a moment. Levi pulled their foreheads together, staring deep into each other’s eyes. They both smiled and pressed a ginger kiss onto each other’s lips because they still hadn’t caught their breaths back. Erwin tugged Levi close and kissed his shoulder, as he had wanted to do before they get in the water. Levi mewled into his shoulder, he liked how that felt.

                “I’m sorry, am I moving too fast? I know we just met but,” Levi stopped Erwin from talking.

                “Erwin, I have fallen for you, and that is very hard for me to admit, but I meant what I said,” Levi stopped to wrap his legs around Erwin and pull him closer, if it were even possible. “I don’t ever want you to let me go.”

                Levi couldn’t believe this was happening, first the man busts his head open and now he is in love with him, how much faster couldn’t they get? But he soon found out that was a question he shouldn’t have asked himself.

                “I won’t, I promise. Levi, I lo –,” Erwin went to move closer, but couldn’t speak anymore after he felt himself, hard and bothered by the kissing, press up against Levi, who was in the same situation.

                “Ahh! Erwin!” Levi leaned his head back and almost smacked it against the wall, arousal and pleasure rolling though hid body. He suddenly felt so hot, despite being half way submerged in the cold water.

                “Levi.” Erwin breathes, rutting against him again, pulling another graceful moan from Levi’s lips. “I should stop, but, God, I want to touch you; I want to kiss your body.”

                “I’ve never,” Levi was breathing hard as Erwin kissed his neck and down his throat. “Never done anything like this before with anybody – ahh – barely even myself.” He felt nervous and embarrassed admitting this.

                “I haven’t either, Levi, I have to be honest.” Erwin pulled back, hoping he didn’t take that sign incorrectly, but stopping just in case. “Should we stop?”

                “No, I asked you not to stop touching me.” Erwin pushed forward again to rub their erections against one another. “But I don’t fuck on the first date.” Levi laughed and moaned at the same time, the sensation almost taking over his body.

                “I’ve never been on a date before, so I’d say neither do I, but that doesn’t mean I can’t touch on the first date, does it?” Erwin snuck his fingers under the edge of Levi’s riding pants and slowly pulled them down until the man was bare, thankful that the water was crystal clear.

                Levi gasped and then arched his chest into Erwin, the friction of the pants pulled at his lower region, flinging it back into its place against his stomach. He leaned forward to push Erwin’s down also, but not having long enough arms to do so, Erwin took it as a sign to finish for him. Levi moaned, a little bit louder than he intended to, when he saw how well-endowed Erwin was. He was certainly hung, swollen, and ready to pleasure anyone who might need it. Levi wasn’t small himself, but he was nowhere near this big.

                “Is this okay?” Levi breathed against Erwin’s mouth and he pulled the man’s broad shoulders back down to kiss him. Erwin smiled into the kiss and brought his hand down to grab the both at the same time. “Ahh, Erwin! I’ll, ugh, take that as a yes.”

                Their breathing quickened as Erwin pulled on both of their erections at the same time, the underside of each rubbing up against one another, each feeling the other’s vein twitch in pleasure. Levi reached down sheepishly to grab at Erwin’s balls, feeling the man gasp against his mouth and rut into his own hold.

                “Levi, that was good, do it again.” Erwin groaned, feeling the man massage him once more before reaching down to do the same.

                Levi was embarrassingly louder than he expected himself to be; Erwin seemed to be an expert at touching their cocks, something he very much appreciated. Erwin had, at some time, let go of his own length to give Levi all of his attention. Levi reached down, one hand threaded into Erwin’s hair, and the other folding around the man’s large cock.

                “Levi.” Erwin groaned and thrusted into Levi’s hand, sending pleasure shooting to Levi’s groin. Levi ran a thumb over the head of the swollen cock, gaining a moan from Erwin and the same gesture given to him.

                It wasn’t long before the men’s hands were both moving furiously, each rutting and thrusting into each other’s hands, cupping at each other’s balls every now and again. They were sloppily kissing, the only sound other than their breathing being the splashes they made in the water. Levi felt his orgasm coming closer before Erwin even seemed ready to finish.

                “E-Erwin, I’m about – ahh – Erwin!” Levi tried to clutch the man close but suddenly felt himself being lifted out of the water and being pressed up against the wall, before a wet warmth engulfed his cock. He felt a tongue feverishly licking around him and a sucking more pleasurable than anything he had ever experienced. He saw stars before gripping the man’s hair with one hand, bracing himself against the rock with the other, and wildly thrusted himself into the man’s throat. “Erwin! E-E-cumming, Erwin! Erwin! Oh! Fuck, Erwin!”

                Erwin gave one more long slurp at Levi’s cock as the man thrashed above him and screamed his name, before feeling him cum hard, cum pouring down Erwin’s throat as he drank it all, sucking the smaller man dry. He had never done that before, but he felt as if he would need nothing more in his life than to do that again and again. He let Levi softly slump back onto the perch, gasping as the cold water touched his hot body. That perfect vison of the naked man shuttering above his head was more than enough to unleash his orgasm, and it came hard. He pressed his head hard against the wall above Levi’s head and lifted his cock out of the water far enough to paint Levi and his own chest, something Levi mewled at and moaned from, reached down to massage as much from Erwin as he could.

                “Ahh! God, fuck, Levi, more!” He rode the orgasm out with Levi squeezing his balls and touching his cock. He arched his body toward the smaller man and he came down from his high. Levi leaned forward, breathless, and touched his tongue to Erwin’s cum covered chest, cleaning the man.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

                They spent the rest of the day wrapped around each other, clothed this time, under the bushes of the trees. They didn’t speak very much, they didn’t feel the need to, and Levi was sure they had even taken a short nap as the temperature cooled and a late afternoon breeze rolled through the fields of wheat that Heichou munched on. Erwin traced small circles into Levi’s arms and back as the smaller man rested his sore head on the larger man’s chest. They breathed each other in, as if they we afraid they would be ripped apart at any moment.

                “Hmm, maybe we better start back, the units will be coming in soon and I need to have the stalls ready for their return.” Levi said as he stretched a little, though not untangling himself from the man below.

Erwin tugged Levi up until he was resting directly on top of him, pushing his legs on either side and letting him sit up in his lap. They had still not put their shirts back on and Erwin took this time to marvel at how beautiful Levi’s body was, as if he had not been doing this all day. He felt as if he had known this man his entire life, and he hoped he would for the rest of it.

“You are beautiful, Levi.” Erwin fanned his hand across the man’s chest where his heart was and felt it speed up for a moment when Levi blushed. “I’m really glad, as weird as this will sound, that I bumped into you today.”

“I am, too, Erwin.” Levi whispered as he bent back down to lay the millionth kiss on the man’s lips. “The stitches were totally worth that first touch.”

Erwin smiled and leaned forward to sit up and wrap his arms softly around Levi’s small body. He pulled him into a loving, deep kiss. They let their tongues dance together, but not in a heated way, in a loving way. Erwin placed a hand on the back of Levi’s neck and massaged the sensitive areas, loving how Levi mewled when he touched it. He knew, though, that they really did need to get going, he didn’t want to get Levi in trouble. He leaned forward to bring his legs under him and lifted both himself and Levi into the air, without stopping their kiss. Levi wouldn’t think he would like to be carried, but he loved it.

“Let’s get going,” Erwin whispered into Levi’s lips.

Levi called Heichou back from the water, where she had moved to at some point, but only deep enough that her lower legs got wet. They disconnected just long enough to finish dressing and to grab the saddle bag. Erwin placed Levi onto her back and jumped up himself; they both got situated, Erwin scooting forward where Levi would sit and Levi turning to face his chest to allow Erwin to hold him, throwing his legs over the man’s thighs.

“Does your head hurt?” Erwin asked as he felt Levi trying to get comfortable.

“Yea, a little. It’s just throbbing.”

“I’ll go by and see Hange tomorrow to see if she has anything to give you.” He placed a gingerly kiss in the side of Levi’s temple.

“Mmm.” Levi responded as he nuzzled into Erwin’s neck.

The ride back was much shorter than it seemed and it was nearly dusk when they returned, though Levi was happy to see the unit had not yet returned. He could feel, however, that the mare beneath him was exhausted, her sides heaving from walking so much because this was more weight than she was used to. Erwin and Levi had situated back to their normal riding position just before reaching town as to not raise suspicion and then slid off the mare’s back.

“To your stall, my dove.” Levi placed a kiss of the mare’s nose, pulling of the bag and off she went, to the few feet to her stall, before huffing down into the hay and splaying out to sleep.

“I’d better get going to.” Erwin said, regret in his voice. He did not want to leave, especially after promising not to let Levi go. He knew, though, that he better get a head start on his own supper if he was going to be cleaning all night and most of tomorrow afternoon. He pulled Levi into a soft hug, enveloping the shorter man.

“I know, but I don’t want you too.” Levi smiled into his now clothed chest. His chin was lifted, allowing Erwin to stare into his eyes.

“I was going to say this earlier before we got…distracted,” They both blushed as the thoughts of pleasure came back to them. He dropped his voice to a whisper now. “I promise, I will never let you go, Levi Ackerman. I…I love you.”

“E-Erwin…”Levi’s eyes began to water.

“Is that too soon. God, see now I’ve scared you off. I’ve moved to fast. I’m sorry, please for–” Levi placed a hand over his mumbling mouth with a smile on his own, tears falling from his face.

He had only ever heard those words come out of his own mouth when speaking to his mare, but never had he heard another person say it to him before. It sent a shot of pleasure throughout his whole body, but it was a pleasure different from the one he had felt earlier today. This pleasure made his chest tight, his brain hurt, and his heart skip beats. The rest of the world was a blur, and even slowed to a stop; nothing else mattered but the beautiful, mass of a man that was holding him.

“Erwin Smith.” He said the man’s name. “I love you, too.”

They exchanged a kiss and were ready to do more before hearing a thunder of hooves in the distances. The units were returning. They exchanged another quick kiss before slipping from each other’s grasps, Erwin retreating towards the Soldier’s quarters and Levi toward the stalls the open then doors for the tired horses. He reached up to touch the throbbing on the back of his head. He felt Erwin’s hands on his knees and lips on his lips. He smiled, letting it linger and the horses thundered in.


	2. Quit Foaling Around

Erwin did not know his hands could be so raw, the hands that he’d just used to touch Levi’s beautiful body with. That’s what he gets though, it was the punishment he was given and he wouldn’t have traded yesterday for anything; scrubbing floors was perfectly okay with him as long as it had not been a dream. He was finishing the Inn much quicker than he thought he would so he could actually go back to see Levi today, after stopping by Hange to get some pain medication, of course.

                “The place looks pretty good, Smith.” The man who owned the Inn came walking up to him. “Whenever you finish this room, go ahead and go, you have done a pretty good job.”

                Erwin finished scrubbing the floor and quickly returned the cleaning supplies to the front desk. He bid everyone a good day and rushed out the door. Hange was only a block or two away, and he stopped by to grab the medicine before dashing towards the stables. He couldn’t wait to see Levi – _his Levi_. A smile stretched across his face as he turned corner towards the stables, but it soon fell away when the scene before him stopped him in his tracks.

                Levi was standing outside of a stall, blood coating his arms and part of his chest with a smudge on his face. A few men were pulling the carcass of a boated horse from inside the stall on a thick blanket; the horse’s lower body was covered in blood, still wet and leaving a small trail behind them. Levi looked exhausted as he wiped the blood from his face with a towel, he dropped it in a water pan and ducked back in the stall with a huff. Erwin took this moment to walk up to the stall.

                “Levi?” The man turned as he crouched next to a small, lanky body resting in the hay.

                “Erwin, hey.” He flashed a weak smile as he bent down to gather the body of a foal in his arms.

                “What–what happened?” Erwin wanted to wash the blood from Levi, knowing the man had to feel nasty. It was only then that he noticed some of the blood had already started to dry, signaling to him that this had gone one most of the night.

                “That’s the third mare this month, the delivery pretty much ripped her apart. I had to pull this little guy from her body.” The foal was breathing, but in shallow, ragged breaths. “I’ll be with him all day and night. I’m sorry, I know you didn’t come to see me get filthy.” Erwin reached forward to pull the large colt from Levi’s shaky arms.

                “No, Erwin, he is still dirty, your uniform.” Erwin’s hands burned from the weight but he wanted to help.

                “My uniform is already dirty, Levi. Now, where does he need to go?” Erwin chuckled as the smaller man let his tired arms fall to the side.

                “He’ll go to my room, but I need to bathe him first. The pan outside the stall. I need to go get the antibiotic soap though, and I’ll need to get a bottle ready for him.” Levi stripped off his shirt, his chest stained red, even more signs that he had changed shirts throughout the night; he had dried blood all over his torso.

                “You can get the bottle; I can wash him.” Erwin didn’t have anything else to do today, and he would love to help his tired lover in any way he could.

                _Lover, I love the sound of that._ Erwin smiled as Levi walked off to retrieve everything. He looked down at the small animal in his arms, fragile and new. He kneeled down and placed the horse in the deep pan, careful not to let it slide under the water or slump sideways. He was a small foal, smaller than any foal Erwin had ever seen and he could feel every bone in the poor animal’s body. He was afraid he was going to break it.

                “Alright, now, I’m not trying to be patronizing or anything, but I need to walk you through the bathing process because getting the bottle will take a few minutes. I actually can take a few minutes to prepare some more now that you are here to help.” Levi looked around and then gave Erwin a peck on the cheek. “You don’t have to help me, if you don’t want to.”

                “No, no, it’s fine, really. The unit will be gone tonight and most of tomorrow. I’ve been assigned to cleaning equipment until they get back. I can do that in a matter of minutes if I need to.” He reached a wet hand up to caress Levi’s cheek. “So, I can spend as much time with you as I want until they get back.”

                Levi blushed and smiled, picking up a very fluffy rag and poured a generous amount of soap onto it. He put it across the edge of the bucket and reached for Erwin to hand him the foal. He showed Erwin to be careful around the remaining umbilical cord, which had been tied off by a piece of string, and to be easy with the foal’s hooves, which were still very delicate.

                “Now, I need to go milk a mare, which is not as easy a task as it sounds. If you have any questions just call out, we had a mare birth well last night so it shouldn’t take me very long.” Levi stood up and took a small pan to the next stall. “I need a fucking bath.”

                It did not take Erwin very long to bathe the small animal and before long, Levi came out of the stall with two buckets of the mare’s milk. He inspected the foal and when he was happy with how clean he was, he gathered a towel and dried it off. Erwin was still slightly confused as to why they couldn’t just give the foal to the other mother, like Levi said he had done with Heichou.

                “We tried that just after he was born, because we knew the mother wasn’t going to make it, as much as we tried to do our best to save her. But mares can be very choosy,” Levi explained as they walked around the back of the barn and down a hill some little ways to another medium-sized barn looking structure. “The foal she had was her first and she was being aggressive to this little guy.”

                Levi sat a bucket down to push the door of the building open. He went inside first with Erwin following behind him. It was Levi’s room, or house, Erwin wasn’t sure which was more appropriate. The place had trees on either side and wasn’t noticeable from the road, quite a private place. There was a small area of the house littered with hay, which is where Erwin expected the foal was going to go. Erwin gestured toward the pile, not wanting to interrupt Levi.

                “Plus, yea you can lay him on the hay, he is a little less than a month early and I wasn’t completely comfortable just leaving him with the other mare.” Levi grabbed the bottle from next to the hay. “I’m sorry, I’m rambling.”

                “Levi, don’t worry about it.” Erwin stood and rubbed the naked arms of the shorter man.  “You look exhausted, have you even slept yet?”

                “No, not yet, the mare went into labor just before the other horses were put away.” He stifled a yawn and scratched the back of his neck before grimacing, remembering his nails were coated in blood. “It was certainly a long night. The mare died right before you got there, that’s what we were waiting on.”

                Erwin took this moment to wrap Levi in a hug, not caring if the blood would get on his uniform, he just wanted to hold the exhausted man in his arms; Erwin couldn’t tell if he was upset, tired, or both, but he knew he wanted to be there for him. Levi leaned in and wrapped his arms around Erwin’s waist, pulling back as he felt a bulge in the man’s pants.

                “Happy to see me?” Levi joked, Erwin blushing before pulling out a small bottle of liquid from his front pocket.

                “I am, actually, but this is the medicine from Hange. She said to take a swallow or two every few hours and the pain should be very manageable. She said also just to make sure you keep it clean and dry when you aren’t bathing.” He handed the vial over and watched Levi take a sip, he had totally forgotten the wound on Levi for a few minutes.

                Levi suddenly remembered how filthy he was, pulling away from Erwin and looking down at the blood smeared on his body. The blood had been on him for hours, but it wasn’t something he had the time to worry about right now. The foal was more important, especially since it was a colt. He had much promise and Levi needed to do all he could to keep him alive and well.

                “I need to prepare his bottle; he should have eaten already.” Levi dipped the bottle into the bucket of milk.

                “Hey, now, I can handle feeding the kid, you can go get washed up.” Erwin removed his boots and jacket, hoping it was okay to make himself comfortable. He hadn’t worn any of the straps for his gear or anything today, just the normal uniform. He then reached down to pull the bottle from Levi’s hands before he could argue.   

                Erwin plopped down into the hay beside the colt, who had just been watching them, and pulled the baby into his lap. He grasped lightly at the foal’s neck and placed the nipple of the bottle into its mouth; it began to slowly suckle. He looked and Levi had a somewhat shocked look on his face.

                “What? I’ve fed baby livestock before, they were cows, but I figured it worked the same.” Levi smiled again, the fact making Erwin blush. “Now, like I said, go bathe. I’ll be here okay by myself.”

                “Oh, I’m not going anywhere. I actually have a hot spring bath fenced in behind the house. A rare find so close to town but the owner of the barn really likes me, what can I say?” Levi turned down a hallway and padded toward the back of the house.

                Erwin looked down at the suckling foal, which had already begun to perk up a little. Erwin had already seen Levi naked, but the thought of him bathing so close made Erwin feel a little nervous. It was all he could think about and didn’t even realize that foal had finished his bottle and was lightly sleeping in his lap. He chuckled and placed the foal into the hay. He was now able to actually take a moment to look around at the house, Levi’s house. There was a fireplace in front of him, giving his current location the feeling of a living room, and a couch pushed back against the wall behind him. There was a small kitchen connected to the living room and then a hallway, which is where the bathroom and bedroom must be. Erwin’s thoughts floated to the bathroom.

                _Levi has been back here for a while._

Erwin went down the hallway and saw a room at the very end, steam rolling out of the open door. He poked his head in to see Levi half submerged in the water and half laying on the stone ground, sleeping. His back and chest were still tinged in red, as if he hadn’t even started to wash before falling asleep. Erwin stepped forward, picking up a wash cloth that was sitting next to the water and dipped it in, dragging it over the sleeping man’s skin. The blood began to wash away as Erwin wiped over Levi’s shoulders and down his back as far as he could reach in the position he was in. His soaked the rag and placed it on Levi’s head, as softly as he could so as not to wake him. Erwin wanted to get in the bath with him to finish washing Levi, but the thought made him nervous; bathing another person is an extremely intimate action and it was one he would rather do when Levi was awake.

“Levi,” Erwin rubbed his sides and tried to shake him awake. He kissed his cheek and started to sit him up. “Hey, you need to finish your bath, you’ll catch a cold.”

Levi grumbled, he lifted his head and looked over at Erwin, eyes glazed over. Erwin found that to be absolutely beautiful and knew his face had to be about as red as a lobster. Levi lifted his soaked body from the water and climbed on top of Erwin to straddle his hips and lay a sweet, loving kiss on his lips. He giggled and rolled off, slinking back into the water and fully submerging himself. He popped his head out and smiled to Erwin.

“That actually felt really good. I have to admit that I was awake the whole time, but I just couldn’t bring myself to stop you.” Levi poured some shampoo into his hand and carefully washed what little hair he had, reaching down to wash the rest of his body also.

“He took the milk really well and now he is sleeping.” Erwin helped Levi from the water and dried him off, as if was something he had done every day for his entire life, causing Levi to mewl softly. Erwin checked his wound and covered it with a piece of gauze.  

“That’s good, I’ll still be up all night with him, though. He has to be fed every two hours.” Levi pulled his clothes on and snuggled in close to Erwin, who wrapped his arms around him. Levi then grabbed his hand as they walked back to the living room.

The colt was sound asleep on the hay, his sides rising and falling at an even pace compared to earlier today. Levi walked over and checked him over once more before standing up and putting his boots back on. He then walked over to the milk and put in the ice chest in the kitchen.

“I need to go back up to the office to tell Mr. Lake about the mare and fill out some paperwork on the colt. You are more than welcome to come, but you can stay here if you’d like, make yourself at home.” Levi looking up at Erwin and smiling.

“I’ll come with you.” Erwin blushed and scratched the back of his head. “I came here to spend time with you, and I’d like to do that as much as possible.”

Erwin walked forward and pulled Levi into his chest, pressing a hard kiss to his lips and breathing in his scent. Levi softened into him and reached up to wrap his arms around the larger man’s neck, he had to stand on his toes to do this and that intrigued him even more about Erwin. He loved the fact that the man was taller than him and could easily lift him up, making him feel weightless and, oddly, important. Erwin placed him back on the ground and nuzzled into him, nothing could make him regret missing training yesterday.

 

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

                Mr. Lake certainly wasn’t happy about losing one of his mares, but he was a little relieved to hear that the colt made it and looked like it was going to be perfectly fine. He requested that Levi clean the mare’s stall in preparation for another horse to board, but other than that he wanted Levi to put all of his attention on the foal, the other stable hands could see to his normal routine for the next few days. Levi needed to fill out the paperwork on the foal, noting that he was a male, chestnut in both body and hair color with three stocking and a left-center blaze, yellow-brown eyes, and one black hoof. Erwin was waiting outside the office for Levi, and followed him to the mare’s stable after he emerged.

                “So, while I’m cleaning the stall, why don’t you go get us some lunch?” It was past lunch time but Levi had yet to have anything on his stomach except for the pain medication. “Oh, and, uh, do you maybe want to stay for dinner? I’m a pretty good cook.”  
                _I really want you to stay. Please, please, don’t think I’m moving too fast. Please say yes!_ Levi crossed his wrists behind his back and teetered on his heels. Erwin blushed, for the hundredth time today, and walked as close to the man as he could without looking odd; the stable yard was quite busy today.

                “That sounds wonderful, Levi. Do I need to pick up anything for dinner while I’m out?” Levi was struck by how casually Erwin asked about dinner, it was as if they had done it every night for the past 20 years. Levi reached for his wallet, but remember it was back at his house. “Oh, no, don’t you even think about that. I busted your head open and wasn’t able to buy you food yesterday, tonight is my treat. What would you like to cook, chef?”

                “Hmm, some chicken maybe? If you are going anywhere near the market, how about grabbing a tomato or two, two potatoes…and a loaf of bread. Does that sound okay?” Levi kept down a tiny yelp when Erwin pushed him into the dirty stall.

                “What’s for dessert?” Erwin licked Levi’s lips suddenly and gave him a quick kiss before darting off into town. Levi sank to the floor, having to give himself a minute for his sudden arousal to go away before he could retrieve what he needed to clean the stall.

                Levi had to remove all of the dirtied hay, which proved to be a lot easier because it was all stuck together in clumps, but the scrubbing of the stall proved a little more difficult because the blood had already dried and seeped into the wood; Erwin had already returned with lunch before he had barely made a dent in the stained wood. He wiped the sweat from his brow, already knowing he would need another bath later. Levi reached up and pulled his shirt up from his behind his neck. Erwin had been standing in the doorway and almost dropped his drink when Levi’s shirt was fully removed.

                “My God, Levi!” He stepped forward to run his fingers along the multiple bruises and hoof shaped markings the coated his back and parts of his chest.

                “What?” He looked down and noticed the marking forming as well. “Ah, yea. Mares tend to kick when you get in the way.”

                Levi just brushed off the bruises and went back to work, this was a normal occurrence for him. He knew that as soon as he was finished, he could have Erwin all to himself in the comfort of his own home. Erwin put the food down near the ground and stepped forward to pick up a second brush from the bucket of dirtied soap water and joined Levi in scrubbing the stall. After about 20 minutes of more scrubbing, the stain finally started to come from the wood, returning it to its normal brown color.

                “Alright, I think that is about as good as it is going to get, though I wish I could do a bit better of a job.” He stood and collected the brush from Erwin with a thankful smile and washed them off, returning them to the tack room. “Ready to going, Erwin?”

                “You better believe it.” When they were out of sight of the stable yard, Levi reached over to taker Erwin’s hand and threaded their fingers together. Erwin pulled him in close with his empty arm and wrapped it around the smaller man. They both blushed at the contact and chuckled.

                Levi unlocked the door and pushed it open, hearing a playful whinny as they both entered the house. The foal was sitting up, trying to stand, but failing on his wobbly legs and unready hooves. It had been nearly three hours since his last bottle, so he was due for another. Erwin placed the food on the kitchen table while Levi dipped out another bottle of mare’s milk. He started the flame over the open grill in the kitchen a pulled a cast iron pot from its hanging place on the wall, filling it with water and letting the bottle begin to boil in it. By this time, Erwin had already washed the vegetables and cleaned the chicken; he washed his hands and came up behind Levi, who was testing he temperature of the milk on his arm, to grip the man’s body tightly to his own and press a kiss to his still bare shoulders.

                “You are very tall, you know.”

                “No, I think it’s that you are just abnormally short.” Erwin laughed and put his head on top of Levi’s just as he got the right temperature, with a satisfied murmur. Erwin pulled the bottle from his hands, release him, and turned on his heel. “Ahh, good, I can feed the little one and you can cook us that special meal you promised.”

                “You read my mind.” Levi washed his hands then replaced the cast iron pot with a skillet and began to sauté and season the chicken.

                Levi peaked over as Erwin pulled off his boots, untucked his shirt, and ruffled his hair before making his way over to the teetering foal that was still trying to stand up. Erwin pulled him into his lap and laughed as the foal eagerly took the milk into his stomach. Levi replaced the skillet of water to prepare a second bottle for when the foal finished the first one. He then cooked some rice, added in the tomatoes, and set the potatoes directly on the grill; he periodically checked on the temperature of the milk. Erwin came to retrieve the bottle when Levi shook it over his head in signal that it was ready, leaving Levi with a kiss on his head. Levi retrieved two plates from his cabinet and readied each of their plates and then quickly brewed a pot of tea, placing the loaf of bread in the center of the table.

                “The fat and happy baby is sleeping again; you were right on time.” Erwin took his seat across the small table from Levi and, after quick bow to both of their heads, began to eat.

                They sat mostly in silence for the meal, Levi wasn’t really sure what to say but he most certainly didn’t want to ruin their nice meal by saying something stupid. Levi always had his own cooking to eat and had gotten used to the way his own food tasted, but Erwin wasn’t letting on to whether or not he liked it; Levi was confident in his cooking skills but he was still curious if Erwin liked it or not. He reached for the loaf of bread, absent mindedly, and felt a warm hand under his; Erwin had reached for the bread at the same time. Levi smiled and pulled off a small chunk for himself.

                “So, where did you learn to cook like this? I mean, this has got to be the best chicken I have ever had.” Erwin picked another piece off of the plate and chewed it.

                “Yea? The owner of the stables has done a lot for me, not the manager you have seen me speak to before, but the actually owner, Kenny.  He pretty much adopted me and taught me how to do a lot of stuff. The horses, of course, came first and then I learned the rest by watching him; he took me in and taught me everything I know. He floats in between a few different stables in all the walls, so he’s ever in one place for a long time anymore.” Kenny was the only other person that had shown Levi any kind of compassion, and speaking about him made him feel lucky for everything he had.

                “Well, you are a wonderful learner.” Erwin had cleaned his plate and was resting his head on his hands, watching Levi.

                A knock came to Levi’s front door; he had been somewhat expecting the stable manager to come check on the foal at some point before he left the stables for the night. He stood up from the table, reaching over to touch Erwin’s face, and strolled over to the door, putting a clean shirt on his back. When he opened the door, it was just who he expected, Mr. Lake, coming to check on the foal before night fall.

                “Sorry if I’m interrupting anything,” Mr. Lake states when he caught a glimpse of Erwin siting in the other room. “Just came to check on the little man.”

                “Oh, it’s no worries, just having a friend over for dinner. He’s doing pretty good, took two bottles on his last feeding and he’ll be due for another feeding in about an hour or so.” Mr. Lake stepped over to the sleeping colt and checked his vitals, teeth, and hooves. “He’s already been trying to stand, which is a little impressive, but nothing more than that really.”

                “He looks like he’ll be a strong one to me, another great military stallion. Oh,” He reached unto his backpack. “I have brought a blanket for him. It’s for a two month old so it will be quite big on him but at least he won’t get cold during the night.”

                “Oh, thanks. Yea, I was planning on staying in here with him tonight and keeping the fireplace going, but that will be a big help, maybe now I won’t have to use as much of my firewood. I may just be able to move him into my room now.”

                “I plan to get him walking here in the next few days, maybe just in the hay. Then he’ll be out of your hair and maybe another mare will take him. We have a few more that foaled today that we can try but I want him to be able to walk, at least before we try that.” Mr. Lake was petting the now awake foal and was watching him closely as he was trying, once again, to stand.

                “Have we lost anymore?” Levi’s voice dropped a little bit, he felt particularly guilty for not being there to do his job.

                “Well, we had seven more mares foal today other that Marie. Sarah’s foal was sickly, but she should be fine. Sasha lost hers right after she dropped, but the mare herself is doing fine, that’s who I will most likely try to put him with. So, you saved him, have you got a name for him yet? I noticed you left that option blank earlier.”

“I haven’t really put any thought into it. I don’t really think I should name him.”

“That’s okay, I can do it if you like.” He looked back at the foal that had dropped back into the hay. “How about Mike? It sounds lanky and he looks like he’ll be a lanky one to me.”

“Hey, you’re the boss.”

“That I am.” Mr. Lake stood up and patted Levi on the back. “That was some nice work today. Well, I’ll be on my way so you can get back to your dinner.”

Levi thanked him as he left and then closed the door behind him. He walked back over to the table to Erwin, who was already done with his food. He gathered the dishes and rinsed them off in the sink. Levi was suddenly pressed against the sink, softly but with rough hands.

“So,” Erwin growled lowly in Levi’s ear. “About that dessert?”

“Mmm, didn’t have enough dinner?” Levi chuckled and leaned back against his chest.

“I saved room.” He pressed himself up against Levi and began to kiss his neck.

“How about we take a bath, you know, we did get quite sweaty earlier.”

“Hmm, we could wait until after, I do intend to make you sweat just a little bit more.” Erwin turned Levi around and pushed a kiss onto his lips. He rutted against Levi, finding himself and Levi hardening quickly.

A high pitched whinny suddenly came from the living room, hay was crunching, and the foal snorted. Levi and Erwin separated, huffing as they caught their breath back from the kiss. They laughed against each other’s lips and groaned in disappointment.

“Is this what it’s like having kids?” Erwin leaned his head against Levi’s shoulder. Levi patted him and pushed him off.

“I’ll feed him and get him bundled up. Do you want to go fix the bath water?” Levi turned to prepare another bottle for the foal.

“Sure.” Erwin gentle grabbed Levi’s head in both his hands and pulled it back for another kiss.

The foal suckled down all the milk quickly and, even though he gave Levi a hard time about getting the blanket situated, soon fell back to sleep. Levi rinsed out the bottle and dipped another to have it ready for the next feeding. He made his way back to the bath and saw steam rising from the cracked door.

_I wonder what is waiting for me on the other side_. Levi pushed the door open to see Erwin submerged in the water up to his mid-chest, his clothes neatly folded onto the shelf near the door. The water did have bubbles in it, but Levi had the suspicion that Levi was naked under the water, naked and hard.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“Want to join me?” Erwin wiggled his finger to beckon Levi to him.

“I might want to, yea.” Levi smiled and began to strip. He made sure to do this slowly, taking a moment to look at himself in the mirror as he removed the bandage from earlier. He then made his way over to the bath, getting in and dropping to his knees before crawling over to straddle Erwin. He immediately felt Erwin’s thick cock pressed against his own. “What do we have here?”  
                Erwin reached around to grab Levi’s ass and pulled him as far into his own lap as he could, grinding their cocks together roughly. Levi gasped and bucked into Erwin, the larger man emitted a moan before crashing their lips together. Erwin reached down to take them both is his hands, but Levi stopped him.

“What, what’s wrong?”

“I have plans, and you need to be clean first. Let me wash you?” Levi eyed him and took the soap in his hands.

“Plans?” Erwin gasped when Levi rubbed his soapy hands across the man’s chest, tweaking each one of his nipples as he went along. Levi felt Erwin’s cock twitch against his own; he had to bite down a moan.

“Mmhm.” Levi soaped his hands again and rubbed them down Erwin’s torso and wrapped them around his back as far as he could reach before stopping just above his waist. He bit his lip when he soaped up one last time and then dipped his hands underwater to grip Erwin’s large cock with both of his hands.

“Levi, ah.” Erwin’s eyes fluttered closed as Levi washed him, letting his head lean back on the wall. Levi could feel that Erwin was painfully hard. Erwin was brought so suddenly back to the Earth when Levi let go of him; he then began to seductively wash himself. He slowly dragged his hands down over his own body, stopping to grip his own cock and tug slowly.

“Erwin,” He huffed and tossed his head back, speeding up a little. Erwin snaked his hands around the man’s back marveling at the sight in front of him. “I really, ah, love what you did to me yesterday.”

Levi stopped after about a minute, releasing himself and spreading some shampoo carefully through his hair; he then craned back to dip his head I the water behind him. Erwin leaned forward to take Levi’s left nipple into his mouth and nibble at it; Levi moaned and arched into Erwin’s lap, rubbing their cocks together and creating almost indescribable friction.

“Erwin!” Levi moaned as Erwin reached in between them to grab both of their cocks, jerking them together. He began to suck roughly at both of Levi’s nipples. Levi had to pry himself from the man’s grasp. He then stood up out of the water and moved out of Erwin’s reach. “Up.”

Erwin followed Levi out of the tub and let the smaller man dry him off, returning the favor and patching his head back up. Levi took Erwin by the hand and led him out of the bathroom and into a bedroom just up the hall. As soon as they reached the bed, Erwin pushed Levi down, towering over the man and roughly kissing him, groping as much of the man’s body as he could. Levi had one hand twined in Erwin’s hair and another on Ewin’s chest, his legs wrapped around Erwin’s waist. The continuously rutted against one another, moaning for each other.

“Roll over.” Levi growled out and Erwin obliged for him. Levi was now seated proudly in Erwin’s lap with Erwin’s hands rubbing up and down his thighs. “The view from up here is pretty nice.”

“Yea? You should see mine, it’s pretty sexy.” Erwin ran a finger along the vein of Levi’s cock, emitting a shudder and groan from the smaller man.

Levi got off of Erwin’s lap and sank down to settle between the man’s thighs, Erwin blushed as Levi looked up to him. Levi took Erwin in his hands and pumped slowly, feeling the cock harden more at his touch; Erwin began to breath heavily and let his eyes fall closed. Levi cupped at his balls, remembering how good it felt when Erwin did it for him. He watched as Erwin’s thighs began to twitch and felt the cock pulsing in his hands. He then coated his tongue with saliva and flattened it against the underside of Erwin’s, starting at the base and slicking up to the head.

“Levi!” Erwin gasped and bucked his hips, moving the tip of his cock directly into Levi’s hot mouth. “Levi, ah, wow.”

Levi hollowed his cheeks out as best he could around Erwin’s wide girth, lapping his tongue at the sensitive vein along the bottom. Erwin was at a loss for words, the amount of pleasure he was receiving just from being surrounded by Levi’s lips was more than he could have imagined. He reached down to put a hand carefully on Levi’s head and another gripped the sheets. Levi adjusted himself so he could rub himself against Erwin’s leg, each pleasurable rub making him moan around Levi. He then tried to take as much of Erwin in his mouth as possible, saliva running out of his mouth and down Erwin’s shaft as Erwin bumped near the back of his throat. He gagged a little and pulled Erwin from his mouth to recover, coughing a bit. Up to this point, Erwin had been groaning as each movement of Levi tongue but was now whimpering at the loss of suction.

“Get above me, Levi, you’ll get a better angle and I can suck on you too.” Just the thought of having Erwin’s lips around him again spurred Levi to hastily straddle Levi’s shoulders, leaning down once again to pull the wet cock back into his mouth. “Ah, Levi!”

Erwin reached up to caress Levi’s ass and the other to pump the man’s very swollen cock. Levi moaned loudly around Erwin and it took all of Erwin’s sheer willpower not to pump his eager hips into Levi’s hungry throat and choke the poor man.

_That would probably be such a beautiful sight, though._ Erwin then had the image of Levi’s mouth wrapped around the base of his cock, throat visibly full of it as he swallowed around him, his face having the deepest look of pleasure. Erwin sure hoped he would be able to do that one day. He took Levi into his mouth, sucking roughly at the pulsing cock, giving Levi’s ass a little smack. He couldn’t see Levi but by the shivering and whimpering coming from above him, he could tell Levi was having a good time

“Erwin!” Levi whimpered as he pulled the man from his mouth. “G-go a l-little–yes–little higher, p-please.”

Levi then began to bob his head along Erwin’s cock, taking more and more of him into his hot, waiting lips, sucking and hollowing out his cheeks. Erwin took Levi from his mouth and flattened his tongue as he trailed it up to the balls just above his head. He sucked one eagerly into his mouth and felt Levi arch his back toward the roof, pushing himself down more to Erwin. Erwin used both his hands to grip at Levi’s cheeks and pull them open, a twitching hole now in his sight.

_I wonder…_

Erwin took one more licking swipe at Levi’s balls before quickly coating his tongue again and flattening it against the hole, flicking it. Levi moaned the loudest then, screaming for Erwin, sitting directly up and arching his back to press his hands against the wall behind him. Erwin lapped at the hole quickly even daring to press his lips to it and suck hard, poking the tip of his tongue past the tight ring.

“Yes, Erwin! Ah!” Levi rocked his hips and ground them down onto the tongue, pressing it in even more. “Erwin, I’m so close!”

The tension in Levi’s stomach had so suddenly built up when Erwin pressed his tongue inside, that he couldn’t help but feel like he was going to explode. He wanted more, he wanted all of Erwin, he wanted him inside of him, but he was so close he was afraid to move from his current position. Erwin suddenly released one of his cheeks and wrapped a warm, wet hand around his cock to pump hard and fast. The pooling in his stomach suddenly release, the orgasm shaking his body violently.

“E-Erwin! Cumming! Ah!” Levi spilled all over Levi’s hand and stomach; he arched his back so hard he heard it crack, raking his fingers down the wall. He slumped forward enough to not be over Erwin’s face anymore, now above his neck and collarbone, limp cock twitching from release. Erwin reached his clean hand up to wipe the saliva from his face; he placed a kiss on Lev’s left ass cheek.

With Levi’s remaining strength his dropped down onto his elbows and greedily sucked Erwin’s hard cock into his mouth, pumping wildly at the thick base and remaining length that he couldn’t pull into his mouth. Erwin grabbed Levi’s hips, fingernails digging into the skin and most likely bruising the pale body.

“L-Levi, wait, s-slo-ow down! I’m close, t-too. Levi!” Erwin held back as hard as he could. “I-I want to w-watch you, Lev-vi, please!”

Levi quickly moved himself back to being between Levi’s legs, giving him a perfect view of the man below him. Erwin pushed himself up on his shoulders and braced himself against the bed, watching as Levi pulled and sucked with delicious pressure and speed. He felt the pool in his stomach again and began to thrust up into Levi’s mouth and Levi took it lovingly. Erwin noticed small tear prickling in the corners of Levi’s eyes, but nothing stopped the man from forcing himself further down onto Erwin’s lap. Erwin felt the swallowing motion of Levi’s throat as he reached the back, sending him over the edge.

“L-L-ahh! Yes!” Erwin’s cock finally disappeared from view, Levi swallowing all of it as Erwin spilled thickly down his throat. Erwin let his head drop back between his shoulders as he went on the downward spiral from his high, quickly becoming too sensitive in Levi’s mouth; he pulled himself from the man’s lips.

Levi sat up slowly wiping the corners of his mouth to remove the excess spit and cum from his face. They were both struggling to catch their breaths. Erwin let his legs drop and he reached forward to pull Levi to his chest before they both dropped back onto the bed, thoroughly coated in sweat and, now, the cum that Levi had put there. He felt Levi squirm at the feeling of the wet cum.

“Bath?” Erwin breathed out to the man above him, kissing his forehead.

“Is that okay? This stuff feels repulsive.” Levi blushed and tried to hide his face is Erwin’s chest.

“Did it feel that was running down your throat?” Erwin growled out roughly, taking Levi’s face in his hands and kissing his lips.

“No, oh no, that was amazing. I loved it.” Levi smiled as Erwin picked him up off the bed and carried him back to the bath where they groped each other into oblivion once more, cumming for a second time each before crawling back to the room before collapsing onto the bed.

“You know, I have to admit, I wanted more than just your tongue inside me when I realized how amazing that could feel.”

“Are you kidding, when you came, I was wishing it was more than just my tongue.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Levi.” These were the final words whispered for the night before they quickly dozed off together, tangled up on top of the destroyed bed to take a nap before needing to tend to their tiny guest.


	3. Slice and Dice

“Erwin,” Levi breathed softly as he felt Erwin’s large hands begin to caress his body again. Erwin had used this method twice already to soothe him when he woke up to feed the foal even though he knew Erwin would just insist on doing it himself, but he loved the consequences of getting up.

                Erwin didn’t say anything, just breathed into his ear and pulled Levi’s left leg back over his hip to reach for the already hard cock waiting for him. He smirked and ran a finger along the bottom, he then ran a wet tongue across Levi’s neck when the cock twitched at his touch.

                “Excited?”

                “Always.” Levi snaked his arm above him to run his fingers through Erwin’s hair. He arched his back when Erwin finally wrapped a large hand around his cock and began to stroke him at a lazy pace, sweeping his thumb across the tip.

                Erwin began to pick up the pace when Levi whimpered, a large bead of precum glistening the top of his cock. Levi would never get tired of how amazing it felt when Erwin touched him. Erwin had his other arm under Levi’s body and stretched his hand down to cup Levi’s balls. Levi blushed as the pleasure already began to pool in his stomach; he was exhausted and would welcome the release without holding back as long as Erwin didn’t stop touching him.

                “E-Erwin, more…” Levi twisted his head around to bring Erwin into a sloppy kiss. Erwin hadn’t gotten off the past two times Levi had and he seemed to be okay with pumping Levi into oblivion, but this time he had a different plan. Erwin returned the kiss lovingly, shoving his tongue down Levi’s throat. Levi was close and Erwin could see all the precum leaking from the head in his hands.

                “Do you want to cum, Levi?” Erwin growled deeply into the kiss. Levi groaned in desperation as Erwin took Levi’s cock in the hand trapped under the man. He used his free hand to collect all the precum onto one finger and move his touch down below Levi’s balls to the puckering hole, waiting to get some attention.

                “A-ahh.” Levi’s breathing became heavy as Erwin began to circle his wet finger around the hungry hole. “Erwin, your tongue…I-I want...”

                Levi was suddenly, but gently, pushed across the bed onto his knees with his ass sticking up in the air, he leaned down to press his chest into the bed, and craned his neck around to watch Erwin sit down behind him. Erwin pulled him backward to settle closely to his lap, making Levi straddle his waist. He kissed each one of Levi’s cheeks, biting slightly to make Levi whimper into the mattress, before bringing his hands up to massage the tender backside. He gathered saliva onto his tongue and licked softly below the hot, waiting hole, feeling Levi’s cock twitch wildly.

                “Erwin, please, it felt so good.” Levi took himself in his hand and pumped slowly, the aching growing as Erwin teased.

                “I just like to hear you beg, baby.” Erwin blew hot breath onto the hole and watched it tremble. He slicked his tongue up again and pressed it against Levi, lapping away at the flesh, feeling the man begin to squirm under the hot muscle.

                “Erwin!” Levi pushed back against him, moaning against every movement of the tongue that had him so hot and bothered.

                Erwin kissed the ring, sucking slightly, before pushing the tip of his tongue in; Levi cursed and pumped faster at his cock, rocking back against Erwin as the waves of pleasure pulsed through his body. Erwin brought his hand up to his mouth, pulling away from Levi for just a moment, to coat a finger in saliva before returning his mouth back to Levi.

                “Erwin, I want to cum, p-please.” Levi pulled his hand away, wanting Erwin to finish him off. Erwin chuckled and wrapped a hand around Levi’s leaking cock, making the boy scream and buck into his hand. “Yes, ahh, Erwin! S-so clo-ose.”

                Erwin pushed the slicked finger in under his tongue; Levi moaned as he was pumped faster to distract him from the slight pain and discomfort. Erwin licked around his finger before stating to drag it in and out of Levi’s body. Levi was wrecked, between being licked and the new sensation of Erwin’s finger, he was in so much bliss that he could barely think; all Levi could do was rock back and forth with Erwin’s movements. Erwin pushed his finger in deeper, circling to stretch Levi, feeling the man clench and spasm against the digit.

                “E-Erwin! Faster!” Erwin curled his finger and quickly dragged it through the man. Levi was shuddering, his body shaking as Erwin pumped him even faster to match the thrusts of his finger. Levi had a clutch of the blankets in each hand, moaning and gasping into the bed as he pushed himself back for more.

                “You look so amazing, Levi.” Erwin nipped around his finger. He would love to be inside his lover, but he knew it was too soon, especially for his size. Erwin was harder than he had ever been before, loving to see Levi is this kind of position and imagining the many things he could do to him to make him scream.

                “Want…suck on...” Levi gathered his strength to pull himself off of Erwin, whimpering at the sudden empty feeling as the finger was removed. He turned to push Erwin down and rip his pants off, immediately taking the heavily-hard cock into his wet mouth.

                “Levi! Slow do–,” Erwin stopped when Levi straddled his shoulders and presented himself to him, open and ready to be finished off. He sucked greedily at the large cock and Erwin was happy to let him continue. “Good boy.”

                Erwin pushed his finger back into Levi, feeling him suck the finger in deep, groaning around the cock in his mouth as the pleasure filled him once again. Erwin groaned at the pressure of Levi’s mouth, tongue, and lips as the man hollowed his cheeks with each slurp and pushed Erwin deep into his throat. Erwin was already close after holding back earlier during the night, he began to shallowly thrust into Levi’s mouth. Erwin bent his finger at one particular moment when he felt Levi’s throat clench around him.

                “The—again! Again, Erwin, please!” Levi jumped up from his position to scream loudly. He clenched his eyes and pressed down desperately attempting to recreate that wave of mouthwatering pleasure. Erwin had found Levi’s spot, and never would he forget it.

                “Here?” He rubbed a little to the left. Levi couldn’t find words, he slinked back down to suck Erwin back into his mouth, sucking relentlessly. “Levi!”

                Erwin stopped teasing and slammed into the spot that made his lover scream, but around his cock this time. He bucked harshly into Levi’s mouth, feeling the heat pool in his belly, he was about to cum, and wanted Levi too also. He shifted to take Levi into his mouth, returning the heavy sucking and thrusting his finger hard against the spot inside. Levi bucked and slammed into Erwin’s mouth, whimpering and screaming around Erwin’s cock. He wouldn’t pull away to warn Levi he was about to cum, but he didn’t expect Levi to mind very much. He reached up to cup Levi’s sack one more time before feeling a familiar twitch in his mouth.

                _There you go, baby._

                Levi screamed around Erwin once more before slamming down into his mouth hard, feeling Erwin hollow out his cheeks and press into his spot with particular force, causing him to spill all he had down the throat of the beautiful man below him. Erwin felt nothing other than the delicious vibrations around him, Levi’s muscles convulsing around his finger, and the thick lines of cum sliding down his throat before guiding his free hand up to brace himself against the back of Levi’s neck. He groaned around the spurting cock in his mouth and thrusted heavily down Levi’s throat, riding his orgasm out inside the hot, wet cavern. Levi let Erwin fall from his mouth as Erwin lifted his shivering hips to place the on his chest, both of them being sensitive and now tired.

                “E-Er-Erwin…” Levi was gasping for breath, his hot face pressed against Erwin’s right thigh. He suddenly felt two warm arms around his waist, lifting him back against a heavy chest. “That was amazing, please, do that again.”

                “Whenever you want, love.” They exchanged a salty kiss before Erwin tucked Levi back into the bed, bending over to pull a pair of pants onto his body. “I’ll be right back.”

                Levi snuggled down into the bed, clutching the pillow Erwin had been using close to his body and breathing in the familiar scent of his lover. He found himself drifting back into sleep as the sounds of Erwin calling to the foal drifted down to the hallway and into his ears.

                _God, he is so amazing._ Levi was slightly woken when Erwin slid back into the bed and pulled him close, bringing back the deep warmth Levi had been missing. Erwin was soon snoring, wrapping Levi protectively in his arms and breathing into his neck. He smiled before the sleep fully took him, drowning him in dreams of Erwin’s embrace.

**~~~~~**

“Levi.” Erwin shook him out of his sleep with distress in his voice. “Levi, come on, you need to get up, please.”

                “Wh-what?” Levi groggily opened his eyes, seeing a shocked look on Erwin’s face. “Shit, is everything okay? Is something wrong with Mike?”

                “No, but–.”

                “Erwin! Come on we have to go!” A shout came from the living room.

                “Levi, are you here?”

                “I’m coming!” Erwin pulled Levi softly to his feet. “The stable manager is here; he came while I was feeding Mike. You need to wake up.”

                Erwin released Levi and began to pull on the rest of his uniform on over the pants and shirt he was already wearing. Levi was very confused, he could hear the foal nickering from the living room and two men conversing.

                _What the fuck?_

                “Erwin, what is going on?” Levi pulled on a stable uniform with shaky hands.

                “Titans attacked the wall builders. I-I have to go. They need your help at the stables to prepare the remaining horses. There was an ambush, they came out of nowhere and we have to go out.”

                Erwin was visibly shaking and Levi suddenly felt tears rush to the corners of his eyes, it was something he hadn’t even thought of yet, the fact that Erwin could be called away at a moment’s notice. The Titans hadn’t been a big threat in the past few years so the wall being expanded, but how could this all be happening?

                “Erwin–,” Levi’s voice chocked as the tears began to spill from his eyes. “You missed your training, all because–”

                “Levi, no, don’t even go there. Everything is going to be fine, Levi.” Erwin pulled him close, hard, slamming the smaller man into his chest. “I’ll be–”

                Levi pressed up to kiss Erwin, reaching to take the man’s face into his hands. Titans meant death, they always meant death, even if it was only one person, someone always died. He had fallen in love with Erwin, and the realization that Erwin was about to leave him was crushing. Erwin wrapped his arms around Levi and pulled him off the ground. They kissed shortly before dressing quickly and racing into the living room.

                “Shit, Erwin, it took you fucking long enough, what were you kissing him goodbye or something? Fuck, we need to go.” The soldier tossed Erwin a group of leather straps and pulled him out the front door, Erwin looking back over his shoulder to smile at Levi, before disappearing.

                “Nile, what’s going on?” Those words followed Erwin up the hill.

                “Mr. Lake, what–” The man gathered the foal into his arms as Levi pulled on his boots.

                “The wall builders were ambushed by a group of Titans and word says they are still appearing, we don’t have a head count yet, but the Scouting Legion needs all the horses they can get; they are taking around two hundred people. Kenny is bringing down his entire herd from Wall Rose, we only have a small window of time to prepare everything. We must go, now!” With that they rushed out the front door and up the hill toward the stables. Mr. Lake rushed the foal into an empty stall before running into the chaos to help.

                The stables were in chaos with soldiers running everywhere – none of which were Erwin or this Nile character that was in Levi’s house – pulling carts together and tacking up horses. It couldn’t be any later than five in the morning, but it was already brighter than the middle of the afternoon with all of the torches that were lit. Levi jumped into action, grabbing horses by the bundle and tying them to their respective posts in wait for their riders. This stable had forty horses, at the most, and Levi had gathered them all in a matter of minutes.

                _Erwin, Erwin, please don’t leave me._ He still hadn’t seen Erwin, and he knew that he might not ever see him again. He shook his head and tried to focus as he threw cart gear onto a pair of stallions, quickly strapping them to a cart.

                “Levi!” The voice was Mr. Lake. “Take that cart to the barracks, they need to fill it with equipment.”

                Levi jumped up on one of the stallions and pushed them forward, turning harshly and leading them through the bustling soldiers, still feverishly looking for the face of his lover. He wanted to call out to him, but he knew Erwin had a job to do right now and did not need to be distracted. He made his way down the road to the gated military area, soldiers waving him to them. Levi jumped down to hold the two horses still as a pair of soldiers argued over what to put in the cart.

Levi abandoned the horses, he had been there for five minutes and there was still nothing in the cart. The stone building was mostly empty, and still dark as torches had not been lit inside yet. He was suddenly grabbed as he turned a dark corner and shoved into a lit bedroom, Erwin engulfing him in his arms.

                “Erwin!” Levi grasped at the man, trying to clutch as much of the man’s body in his hands as he possibly could. The tears began to fall once more and Erwin hugged him even tighter. Everything hit him at once. “Please, please, don’t go, please! You promised – hic – you promised you wouldn’t let me go, please! You can’t, you missed all your training! You can’t go! I won’t let you, please! Erwin! You aren’t permitted to go, not allowed! No!”

                Levi was hyperventilating, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion he had never felt before; his heart felt as if it were being ripped from his chest as smashed onto the ground. He and Erwin had, at some point, sunk to the ground and he was balled up in Erwin’s lap. The tears were hot as he pressed his face into Erwin’s neck; he could feel Erwin’s quick pulse under his lips.

                “Levi.” Erwin had tears rolling down his face also. This was a sight Levi thought he would never see. The strong man he had fallen so quickly in love with was breaking down, his face rosy and wet. “I’m sorry, I wish I could stay.”

                They pulled each other close, no millimeter of space was available between them, and they kissed, this time in long pulls. They didn’t care if they couldn’t breathe, because life was going to be unlivable without each other; they clutched at each other’s clothes.

                “L-let me feel you again, please!” Erwin tugged at Levi’s shirt and pulled it off of him with no struggle, pressing his large hands hard against as much of Levi’s torso that existed. Levi tried to push his hands to feel Erwin but the straps confused him. Erwin shrugged them off harshly and dragged his shirt off, letting Levi explore his broad shoulders and chest.

                “I love you, Erwin.” Levi pressed his nails into Erwin’s back and pulled their bodies together, their warmth growing.

                “Levi, God, I love you so much.” Erwin pushed Levi back to look deep into Levi’s slate grey eyes, rimmed with pink lids. “I will come home, I promise.”

                “Promise?” Levi whispered and caressed Erwin’s tear stained face, but he gave him no time to respond. “Please, please, please don’t leave me!”

                “Oh, Levi.” Erwin held the sobbing man close to him, his body convulsing with each cry; Erwin’s tears had already dried and he was smiling against Levi’s wounded head. Levi had been left alone enough already; they were going to have to pry Erwin from his arms. “You are going to make be betray my command.”

Erwin rocked Levi, rubbing his back and kissing his head, for what seemed like hours though it had only been minutes. Levi’s sobs were still shaking him still but he had gone silent, other than the sniffling and hiccups. Erwin curled a finger under Levi’s chin and lifted him to look at his face; Erwin pressed a deep, sincere kiss to his lover’s lips.

                “I will come back to you, Levi Ackerman. I am one of the best soldiers in my unit, you have nothing to worry about.” Erwin smiled, knew this was true, there was nothing that could keep him from returning to Levi. “A few days of missed training are nothing compared to what I already know.”

                “Erwin, please don’t forget about me.”

                “Oh, baby, never, I could never forget you.” He chuckled and lifted them from the ground. He only had a few more minutes he could squeeze out of this encounter. He released Levi, hearing his whimper in protest, and walked over to his dresser, pulling an old shirt and long green coat that bore the Survey Corps emblem, from the drawer, handing them both to Levi. “You can’t forget about me, though, you have to promise.”

                “Bastard, that’s impossible.” Erwin took a cloth bag from his closet and packed the two items into it, slinging it over Levi’s shoulder. There was a sudden, but gentle, knock at Erwin’s door before it was pushed open. It was Nile, the man who has come to retrieve Erwin, now bearing a horned horse on his jacket, the Military Police.

“That’s it, Erwin, we need to go, I’m sorry.” Nile looked over to Levi. “I’m not going to ask why you have no shirts on.”

“One more minutes, Nile, please.” Erwin reached to Levi and pulled them back together.

“You can have one, and only one.” He closed the door but was obviously still present outside.

“Erwin–” Levi had tears in his eyes again.

“No, no more tears. If you cry anymore I won’t be able to leave. I can barely leave now.” Erwin’s thumbs wiped away the tears that threatened to spill over the lids of Levi’s eyes. “You have to stay strong or all I will do is worry about you out there. This is just a regular mission; I will be fine.”

“I love you, Erwin. Please, please come back to me.” Levi clutched at Erwin’s arms.

“I love you too, Levi, and I promise I will.” They shared one more kiss before releasing each other to redress. The door was pushed open again.

“Alright, Erwin, they are getting into formation, we must go now.” Nile held the door open. Erwin clutched Levi’s hand and they both followed Nile out the door.

The trio raced to the courtyard where the team had finally finished packing the cart. Levi jumped onto the back of the stallion he had rode in on and waited for Nile and Erwin to get in the cart. He pushed the stallions forward once more and pulled them back to the stable yard where the rest of the horses had been collected and mounted, ready to take off. Erwin took his place on a lone stallion near the back of the group, falling into formation as a soldier.

Levi hopped down from the stallions and stood back as Dot Pixis led the group through some last details of the mission. They were to go out full force to take down the titans, of which a large unknown number had been sighted, and help the wall builders safely replace their lost workers. They did not know when they were going to return, or how many of them would survive. Levi clutched at the bag hanging around his shoulders.

“Sir!” All the soldiers called out and saluted the man in front of them before racing forward through town to the front of the gate.

Erwin looked back as his horse raced forward, back at the longing face of the lover he was leaving behind. Levi lifted his hand to wave like a worried wife, fighting tooth-and-nail to keep the tears from streaming down his face more than they already had. Erwin nodded and faced forward again as they approached the gate, racing under it and into the night.

“He’ll be alright, Levi.” Kenny’s gruff voice suddenly filled his ears.

“W-what are you talking about?” Levi looked away before blushing.

_Have we been that obvious?_

“Don’t worry, it’s not that big a deal, but you should know by now that I know you better than I would know my own son if I had one.” Kenny chuckled and squeezed Levi’s shoulder. “At least you have good taste, I have a thing for blondes myself. Tea?”

 

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

                Erwin hadn’t seen this many titans since he’d starting training, there had to be _at least_ forty of the beasts, each of them being over fifteen meters tall; they got lucky, though, the wall builders had been near a large forest so their gear came in very handy.  The large group had taken out over a fourth of the soldiers in their first twenty minutes there, their horses losing the battle in the process. Erwin had been split from his normal training group but he had managed to taken down ten titans himself. All of his blades were dull now and he also needed to refuel. He found an empty horse and raced from the forest to find the nearest cart that had equipment.

                “Smith, thank God, I was afraid I had seen you crushed against a tree.” Hange ripped the air cans from his gear and replaced them with fresh ones, replacing his blades as well. The woman’s hair was a mess and she was smeared with blood. There were covered bodies in the cart behind her and a few bandaged soldiers in a cart near them.  

                Erwin couldn’t think clearly enough to respond to her. He had been sent out on missions out of the wall before and had seen the carnage happen but he had never seen this much death before; there were limbs hanging from titan mouths, unidentifiable bodies smeared through the trees, and plenty more soldiers bleeding to death, screaming for someone to help them.

                “Shit, fuck, move the carts! A twelve meter ahead!” Hange and Erwin pushed their gear into action the second the titan emerged from the trees.

                Erwin felt the gear pull his body forward as the harpoons dug into the height of a tree, he and Hange were both being hurled in the direction of the man-eating titan, its mouth open and arms outstretched to grab them. Hange put her hooks through one of the creature’s eyes, swinging around its body to meet Erwin on the other side; Erwin watched as she struck at the weak spot, decapitating the titan in the process.

                “Die, fucker!” Hange growled, almost animalistic, when she crashed to the ground with the head. She rolled away and her gear recoiled back together, there was plenty more for her to kill.

                “Nice kill.” Erwin looked into the forest, he needed to get back into action. He held his elbow out to his dear friend, feeling her own collide with his. “Stay safe, Hange.”

                “Go kick some titan ass, Smith, and don’t you dare die.” He saw a glimmer behind her glasses, she couldn’t leave the cart until someone came to relieve her of her post. That must have been the first she killed today, but she had to wait her turn.

                Erwin forgot the horse, swinging back through the trees; he cut down two more titans on his way back into the middle of the forest. Erwin had gone a few feet before coming upon a titan that had two soldiers in each of his hands, an entire squad in its grasp, two of them screaming and kicking as if it would do any good. Erwin sprang forward with a burst of air and sliced through the titan with enough force the snap the blades in half; the titan’s hands fell open and all four of the soldiers fell to the ground. Erwin followed them down just as the two who had been screaming took off again. Erwin took a longing look at the two lying on the ground, motionless, their bodies had been crushed under the weight of the monster’s hand. The pair had blood gushing from under their uniforms, bones poking through the straps across their chests, they still bore a pained and frightened look on their faces; Erwin realized that he didn’t know their names but he added their faces to the many he already had cataloged, he made himself never forget the people he they lost.

                Erwin would never be able to clearly describe the feeling he had when he sliced through the neck of a titan, it was rewarding but horrifying at the same time, but he would never stop slicing as long as the threat of their presence still lingered. Erwin now had a reason to keep slicing, other than the citizens and fellow soldiers he had vowed to protect and serve. His thoughts flashed suddenly back to his lover when he once again became airborne, leaving behind the dead soldiers.

                _Levi, you are my reason._ Erwin had never had such a feeling to relentlessly and carelessly protect someone, not even his family nor his best of friends; Levi was his other half and he would give his life if it meant Levi living another day in this world. The thought of Levi was enough to keep pushing him to slice through the bodies of these merciless monsters.

                Erwin finally made it back to the main battle where there were titans after titans scattered through the forests and even more soldiers flying through the air trying to take them down. Erwin’s ears were deafened by the multitude of screams, battle cries, bursts of air, and crushing sounds, he was sure this included both trees and bodies alike. There were a few barrels of smoke making their way through the trees to signify a few fallen titans, but nowhere near as many as he would like to see. The titans had seemed to stop flowing from deeper inside the forest but they still had more than ten to deal with before they were safe to return home. Erwin had to make his way into the battle without getting grabbed or tangled with another soldier, the latter being extremely difficult with as many soldiers as there were.

                “Smith!” Pixis pulled in close to Erwin; they chopped down a titan together before perching high in the trees.

                “Sir!” It was only then that Erwin noticed that the higher up was drenched in blood, none of which belonged to a titan, he was more than sure of that.

                “I need you to swing around back to the group farthest from us; an abnormal has shown up and already taken down ten soldiers, they can’t get the fucker down, he’s a jumper.”

                _That many just to him?!_

“Yes, sir!” Erwin jumped from the limb, flying to the group in question.

                “Watch yourself, Smith!” The last of the sentence trailed off as he flew through the air.

                This particular titan had been led a little deeper into the trees to get it away from everyone else; he was currently perched in between two trees, much like a bird about to take off. There were soldiers _everywhere_ , this was meant literally. Of the ten Pixis told Erwin had been taken down, five were still hanging from their gear, two of them only being half corpses, four were smeared across the ground, and the other was nowhere to be seen. The titan was currently swinging at two soldiers that were flying near its face while another floated behind it; the titan them had Erwin in its sight. It pushed itself away from the soldiers it was previously occupied with to take pursuit of Erwin.

                “Smith, look out, he is–,” The man that had been addressing Erwin was suddenly swatted in his moment of distraction, splattered against a fat tree next to him.

                “Fuck, Sean!” Erwin watched one of the other’s swing over to the body while another still trailed behind the monster. Erwin sprang into action when the death of the solder finally caught up to him, this was just in time as the titan crashed into the tree behind where he had previously been.

                Erwin buried his hooks into the back of the titan’s skull and pulled himself toward the killer’s neck, but just before he could make contact with its skin the titan suddenly changed direction, ducking its head, to lurch toward the second person trying to attack him. Erwin collided with the tree behind the titan’s head, making him see stars and knocking the breath from his lungs. His hooks were still in the titan, so he didn’t get to stay with the tree, he was now flying through the air along with the movements of the titan. He fought to gather his head before throwing his blade out to catch a chunk of the titan’s skin, giving him enough purchase to gather control of his gear again.

                “You have done enough!” Erwin shot forward, using a large gust of air to fling him forward and to slice roughly at the titan’s neck, once again breaking the blades with the amount of force he used. They both dropped to the floor of the forest, Erwin collided, once again, into a tree as the head was severed from the body. Erwin felt his own head crack against the tree and felt his body slump down to the ground; he wasn’t sure how far of a drop it was but he certainly felt the rock that he found when he reached the bottom. Erwin had no air in his lungs when he finally felt grass beneath his face and that was soon followed by black.

                _Levi…_

**~~~~~**

                “Smith! Smith! Erwin!” That was Hange’s voice, it had to be, it was unmistakable. “Please, for love of God, please wake up.”

                Erwin could feel that the straps had been removed from his chest, his chest suddenly feeling free; his body was incredibly numb almost as if it didn’t even exist. He didn’t know if his eyes were closed or if he just couldn’t see. Erwin remembered hitting his head and them a rock before rolling over to the ground, but nothing after that. His breath hitched in his chest when he remembered the battle. His eyes opened, bringing Hange and a couple others into his view before he lurched his body forward in an attempt to rejoin his comrades in the fight.

                “Hey, whoa, Erwin, stop!” They grabbed his shoulders and wrestled him back down to the floor. “Fuck, can you slow down.”

                The world came crashing back down to Erwin, the forest was remarkably silent and the sun shone hard through the tree that were no longer smeared with bodies, just the blood of the soldiers they had lost. Hange was on her knees next to him, a medical kit opened next to her but nothing missing from it; the look on Hange’s face was one of worried and bewilderment.

                “What…what happened, why aren’t all of you fighting?” Erwin could see that behind Hange stood Pixis and around twelve other soldiers. “You can’t just be fucking standing here!”

                “Erwin!” Hange screamed at him and shook him hard. “Look at me! The fight is done.”

                Erwin still couldn’t concentrate on anything and his head suddenly began to throb. He crumpled back to the floor, taking his head in his hands and falling to his side. Nothing fit right in his head and he couldn’t gather his thoughts, he really must have hit his head pretty hard.

                “He must have a concussion and be extremely confused, help me get him into the cart.” Erwin could hear Hange bark out a few more orders and them a needle was suddenly shoved into his thigh. “This should help, Erwin.”

                Erwin felt his head start to swim as his body was hoisted from the ground and pulled into a cart. He only heard a few orders from Pixis about moving out before his hearing faded away, soon followed by the familiar world of darkness again.

**~~~~~**

                Erwin finally awoke, shaken when the cart below him bounced over a rock, jolting his body sideways and his eyes opened. He saw Hange reach sideways from her perch next to him, the sky above her was slowly becoming a purple color. How long had he been out? Where were they?

                “Hey, it’s alright, easy does it.” Hange held onto his broad shoulders as he tried to sit up. She pushed a canteen of water into his hands and forced him to gulp down a few sips. “You are fine; we are almost back to the wall.”

                “What…“ He heard his voice gruff from his throat. “What the hell happened back there? How long have I been out? What time is it?”

                “Whoa, slow down, one question at a time.” Hange chuckled and reached around to check his head and feel his chest, observing his breathing. He then realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt, only a few bandages wrapped around his torso. “We found you on the ground, so I’m not sure what happened there, but you were bleeding from your ears and you weren’t breathing very well. I’m pretty sure you have some internal bruising to your ribs and possibly your lungs; I’m guessing you hit that rock you were laying near. It’s been about three hours since we turned home; the wall is in sight so we are almost home. I’m not sure what time it is, I lost my watch.”

                “How many did we lose?”

                “Enough; there are one hundred and twelve still up. We were able to recover about forty bodies, and the remains of about eleven more. I’m not even sure how many came with us to begin with.” Hange looked absolutely exhausted, covered in blood, and hair going in every direction. “I was only able to save eight people, _eight_ , everyone else I lost.”

                “You did what you could.”

                “Wall is three!” The destination time was called out from ahead of them.

                “Praise God.” Hange put her head in hands, letting silent tears fall from her eyes; Erwin would not address them, he knew she didn’t want to talk about it.

                The large wall engulfed them, it had to already be around nine at night. The town was quiet, the streets mostly empty, as the remaining troops filed back into the town. They were headed straight to the stables, but a few of the soldiers were dropped off at the barracks first to get medical attention as well as drop off the equipment. Hange started to pull Erwin from the cart.

                “I’m fine, Hange, I’ll go back to the stables with everyone else.” She began to protest when he gave a pleading look. “I’m fine, I promise I will come see you if I need anything.”

                “Fine, here,” Hange reached into her bag and pulled out a large shirt. “At least put a shirt on to protect your bandages.”

                Erwin gingerly threw the shirt on his body and the cart too off, creaking its way back to the stable yard. Erwin climbed out as soon as they reached the yard, immediately looking around for Levi. Levi had to be around here somewhere and Erwin was going to find him before he did anything else; he desperately needed a shower but would rather take one with Levi and feel his body close to him again. Erwin checked every stall before coming to Heichou’s own stall, still not finding Levi anywhere.

                “He’s down in his house; I had to force him to go there when he finally started to collapse from exhaustion.” There was a taller man behind him, but Erwin did not know who he was. “I didn’t think he would stop pacing.”

                “I’m sorry, I don’t think I know you. Erwin” He extended his hand.

                “Oh, I know who you are, soldier.” He took his hand in a rough shake. “Kenny. We can catch up later, you have some _business_ to attend to.”

                Erwin watched as the taller man shot him a wink before walking away from Heichou’s stall and up toward the stable’s main office. Erwin remembered Levi speaking about this man, but it was not his focus. As leisurely as he could, Erwin strolled down the hill toward Levi’s house, breaking into a jog as soon as he was cleared from the sight of any soldiers. He found Levi’s door unlocked and let himself in, finding the room dark and quiet. Erwin took off his boots and the remaining gear and laid them on the back of the couch, taking a moment breath in the scent of Levi’s home.

                “Erwin?” Levi’s head poked out from around the corner of the hallway, his skin pale in the darkness of the house. Erwin rushed forward to catch Levi as his body collapsed to the ground; Erwin found his body to be warm and wrapped in Erwin’s cloak, he must have been sleeping when Erwin arrived.

                Erwin picked Levi up from the ground and carried him back to the bedroom, pulled the sheets back, and tucked Levi’s body into the bed. Erwin needed a shower before he could lay with the man below him that was desperately inviting. Erwin walked back to the bathroom and started the hot water, striping himself of his clothes, and laying a clean towel near the tub.

                “Fuck.” Erwin winced as he started to unwrap the bandage from his chest. He didn’t find a wound under the wrapping, just a large bruise that stretched across most of his upper back. Erwin waded down into the tub and began to wash himself, even before the water had filled it. The bath felt amazing, washing away the terror of the day.

                Erwin lost track of how long he had spent in the tub, washing his clothes in the water as well, hanging them near the door to dry. He wanted to make sure he was as clean as possible and washed away all the trace of the titans before climbing into bed with Levi, he wanted to hold him in a fresh, clean body. When he was satisfied with the cleanliness of his body he pulled himself from the water and dried off, wrapping the towel around his waist. His clothes weren’t dried and wouldn’t be for a few more hours, but that was fine, Erwin intended to have Levi, and Levi only, on his skin. He let the water from the tub and made his way to Levi’s room.

 _He’s so beautiful._ Erwin’s eyes came to rest of Levi’s body once more, which had since come out from under the covers, wearing nothing but Erwin’s cloak and a pair of boxers. Erwin walked over to the bed and pulled the covers back, softly, and eased himself down onto the mattress next to Levi.

                “Erwin?” Levi’s question came once again, this time more aware of his surroundings. “You’re back.”

                “I am. I told you that I would be, didn’t I?” Erwin chuckled lowly as Levi turned to bury himself in Erwin’s chest and tangle their legs together. Levi only replied by kissing his chest before his light snores picked up again. “I love you, too.”

                Erwin wrapped the blankets around them both, taking Levi’s body in his arms as softly yet protectively as he could. He would be fine if he never left this spot, and he wouldn’t for now. He had come back to his lover, and he would never stop coming back.


	4. Take Me to Nirvana

                “Alright, I have training, and don’t be alarmed if it lasts for the next few days.” Erwin grabbed an apple from Levi’s kitchen before strolling over to kiss the shorter man. Levi didn’t look up from washing the dishes; Erwin reached up to clutch a group of his hair and pull his head back. “I don’t get a kiss?”

                “Maybe not, maybe I’ll make you wait.” Levi grinned and winked into Erwin’s powerful blue eyes, seeing a twinkle of lust light up in them.

                It had been two weeks since the titan ambush, since Levi had let all of emotions come out in a blur of tears and crying, and he couldn’t believe he had reacted that way. He didn’t want Erwin to see that side of him again, in fear it would distract him in training and, even worse, while he was on a mission. They had fallen into a normal routine, Erwin would stay over a few nights a week, normally when he wasn’t a training or didn’t have late studying, and there was plenty of intimacy to make up for the time that they weren’t spending together; they would also frequently have dinner dates at Levis house, even if Erwin wasn’t going to stay over, and Levi would walk him home. They were comfortable, happy that they had found each other.

                “Mmm, anything else I can look forward to when I get home?” Erwin wrapped his arms around Levi’s waist to pull them close together.

                _There might be._ Levi let the dishes go back into the sink and dried his hands, wriggling around to face Erwin. Erwin lost the twinkle when he saw a serious look on Levi’s face. He reached up to cup Levi’s face with his hands and bring him into a delicate kiss.

                “Erwin, I…” Levi shifted his eyes down to the floor and blushed, looking back into the worried eyes of his lover.

                “Have I done something wrong?” Erwin started to pull away from Levi, but Levi grabbed his arms.

                “Erwin, no.” Levi was embarrassed, not knowing how to approach the situation.

                “Levi, what’s wrong?”

                “Nothing, Erwin, shut up.” Levi pressed a hand across Erwin’s face to stop the man from speaking, feeling him smile. “I…when…when you get home…will-will you take me, Erwin?”

                Levi quickly buried his lobster-red face in the towel he had wiped his hands on, trying to wriggle from Erwin’s grasp, but Erwin held him fast, picking him up from the ground and sitting him on the counter. Erwin softly pulled Levi’s hands from his face, staring deeply into the grey eyes.

                “Is that really what you want, love?” Erwin pressed their foreheads together.

                “Y-yes.” Levi felt a small warmth grow in his groin, trying to dismiss it so he didn’t kill this slightly romantic mood he was attempting to create. Erwin smiled and pulled Levi deeply into his chest.

                “I will take you as many times as you want me to.” Erwin growled into Levi’s ear, pulling him into a rough kiss. “But, you must promise me something first.”

                “Anything.” Levi breathed out against Erwin’s face just before the man sunk down onto the floor below him. The bulge in Levi’s boxers was painfully apparent and Erwin had noticed it.

                “This,” Erwin pulled the boxers to the side, letting Levi loose from the fabric to curve toward his stomach. He suddenly swallowed Levi whole, humming harshly, and bobbing his head quickly.

                “Er-ahh!” Levi head dropped between his shoulders as a loud moan dripped from his lips. He clutched the counter to buck deeper into Erwin’s throat. Erwin hallowed out his cheeks a few more times before abandoning the aching cock all together. “God, Erwin…”

                “This,” Erwin wiped his mouth, clearing the precum and saliva from the corners of his lips. “You are not allowed to do anything about this. I want to make you cum as many times as possible when I get home from training.”

                Levi groaned, shifting on the counter in an attempt to entice Erwin back to his previous position. Erwin reached forward to smear the precum that continued to bead from the head, licking it from his own finger, before tucking Levi back into his boxers. Levi jumped down from the counter and fell to his knees, fumbling with Erwin’s belt, he needed something, anything to soothe the aching of his cock, but Erwin pulled away quickly and palmed himself through his pants.

                “You know you could cum just from sucking on me, Levi, and that would be cheating.” Erwin reached down to pull Levi from his position on the floor, the man trembling in his arms. He chuckled and pulled Levi into another loving kiss before throwing on his jacket and sauntering out the front door.

                Levi couldn’t get his arousal to go away, anytime he thought he had succeeded, his mind would drift to the thought of Erwin thrusting into him and fucking him into the mattress, causing the fire to flare once again. As much as Levi knew that the experience wouldn’t be as elegant as he wanted it to be, it was still going to be a first for the two of them, and it would be like no other, that thought alone excited him. Levi had a full day ahead of him, though, and needed to concentrate on that. Levi dressed in his normal stable uniform and headed up the hill.

                “Good morning, my dove.”  Levi pushed Heichou’s door open, the mare prancing happily from her stall. He was going to get his head looked at once more by Hange, hoping for a clean bill of health. He hoisted himself on the mare’s broad back and trotted her out the front gate.

                “Ahh, Levi.” Kenny had just been dismounted from his own Shire mare, towering over the pair with ease. “How are you today?”

                “Good, Kenny, you?”

                “I’m good. Levi doing some training today?” Kenny and Erwin had slowly become friends, as if Kenny was scoping out the man hitting on his son, which neither Levi nor Erwin seemed to mind at all.

                “Yea, probably for the next few days.”

                “Oh okay, well I guess today is as good a day as any.” Kenny reached into his saddle bag and pulled out a red satin bag and tossed it in Levi’s direction. “I got you guys a present, thought you might enjoy it.”

                Kenny chuckled and walking to the back of the stable yard to let his horse into a pasture before going toward the office where Mr. Lake was located. Levi pulled the strings open and reached into the bag, finding a rather large vile of clear liquid and a note. Levi unfolded the piece of paper and a blush immediately spread across his face.

                _Blondes are always the biggest. I hope the carpet matches the drapes.  – Kenny_

                “Fucking pervert.” Levi tied the strings through a belt loop on his pants and laughed, pushing Heichou forward into the crowded streets. They made their way over to Hange, hoping she would be open this early in the morning.

                “Good morning, sunshine.” Hange belted out as she pulled the heavy door open. “How are you today?” 

                “I’m good, ready to get these fucking stitches out.” Levi hopped up on the table in the back room and sat as still as he could while the woman behind him poked around the wound.

                “It’s looks all good to me, no infection, but you will most likely have a scar and your hair might not grow right, if it grows at all in this area.” Hange clipped the stitches and pulled them out quickly.

                “Mmm, great, I’ve always wanted a bald spot.”

                “Bitch, you barely have any hair back here anyway, what are you complaining about?” Levi shifted on the table to remove his boots, a loud thumb followed the sounds of them tapping the floor.

                “Oh, and what do we have here?” Hange pulled the bag from the floor and yanked the strings open. “Payment for my hard work?”

                “Ah, I wouldn’t –”

                “Lube?” She looked at him and then found the note in the bottom of the bad. “Oh, this is absolute gold. You are now my favorite person ever. I didn’t think Erwin even had a cock from how alone he’s always been.”

                “Fucking, shit, Hange.” Levi knew he was blushing, especially because he had started thinking about Erwin’s cock again.

                “Yea, there may be some of that.”

                “Hange!” Levi shrieked as he ripped the bottle from her hands and shoved it back into the bag, making sure to tie it tightly around his belt loop again.

                “Hey, no judgment, I’m just happy to see the man happy for once, I don’t really give a shit who it is, but it is kinda nice that it’s a cutie like you.” Hange winked at him while she walked around to the back of her desk and plopped down into her chair. “You should surprise him, let me pierce your nipple or something while you’re getting kinky shit ready for him.”

                “You really are a fucking lunatic, my god, woman.” Levi laid back, feeling content to just hang here with her for a little as he had done before. “It was a gift from Kenny, obviously. Where would you even get this stuff from anyway? They must sell it in Wall Maria or something because I’ve never seen a shop for that sort of shit around here before.”

                “There is a shop here but you have to know where to find it, but that shit is expensive, more than you and I have, I can tell you that for sure.” Hange snorted and leaned back in her chair to perch her feet on her desk. “So when are you guys going to do it?”

                “So personal,” Levi laughed, but did not answer her question.

                “Hey, I’m just naturally curious woman. I just want to know when to not be alarmed when Erwin decides to never leave your room again.”

                “The first time will be horrible; it’s going to be so embarrassing.” Levi chuckled and covered his blushing face with his arm. He was surprised how close he had come to the crazy woman, but she was a very good friend of Erwin’s and he did enjoy her company when Erwin was gone.

                “Well, has he ever,” She wiggled her finger. “Before?”

                “I mean, yea, but, only with one or two. I cannot believe I am talking to about this.” Levi stretched and heard his back crack in a few places. “I’m not even sure if Erwin would be comfortable with me talking to you about this.”

                “You do realize that I knew about this before today, right?” Levi then realized that he had never told her about him and Erwin, they had just started talking about it during one of his visits. “I’m not stupid, plus, his room in next to mine at the barracks. When you walk him home, I end up listening to you guys say goodnight for a whole fucking hour.”

                “Oh, god, what else have you heard?” Levi laughed out loud, but was surprised when he did not blush this time.

                “Nothing I will admit to not enjoying, to be honest with you.” Hange blushed this time.

                “You are a pervert.”

                “What? You guys are really hot, and I could never get _anyone_ to talk to me like Erwin talks to you. I would never leave his side if he did, I don’t know how you manage to be without him during the day.”

                “I don’t know either, to be honest with you, but it is always really nice to see him when he gets home.”

                “Alright, Smiley McGee.” Hange stood up and came around to him. “So are you going to let me do your nipple or not?”

                “Get the fuck away from me, Erwin would fucking kill me, he would hate that.”

                “Oh, then you don’t know our boy very well. He is into that kinky shit. You should get him drunk and then ask him about that shit.”

                “I’ll have to take your word for it. I am not letting you do anything to me until I ask Erwin first.”

                “Ask me what?”

                Levi and Hange looked to the door frame, not even hearing Erwin open the door. He was standing with his right side pressed against the door frame, dirt smeared on his cheek, and a few of his straps undone. Erwin was holding a sandwich in his hand and a bottle of water was sitting on the table next to the frame.

                “Hey there,” Levi swing his legs over the side of the table and smiled toward his lover. “Training break?”

                “Yea, we needed to refill the canisters and stuff. Come here to bother Hange?”

                “Stitches.” Levi pointed to his head and leaned forward as Erwin walked forward to examine the spot, leaning down to place a kiss on the spot.

                “It looks really good, nice job Hange.”

                “Seeing as how I wasn’t given a warning or anything to prepare anything better, I would say it is.” Hange chuckled and took a sip from Erwin’s water bottle. “I’m trying to convince him to let me pierce his nipple.”

                “Hange what is it with you and nipples?” Erwin laughed and wrapped his arm around Levi’s waist. “You know, when I first met her, she wanted to pierce mine too, the woman hadn’t even known me three days and she tried to take my shirt off every chance she got.”

                “I still say you should let me do it. Half of the Survey Corps has their nipples pierced, and, if I do say so myself, they looked forty times hotter after I was done with them.”

                “Hey, if you want to do it, I won’t stop you.” Erwin looked down to Levi and raised his eyebrows, flashing the smaller man an interesting smile.

                “No, thank you, I’m good. When do you have to go back?”

                “Actually, now, I only had a few minutes and saw Heichou walking around town, so I figured you were here.” Erwin gave Levi a peck on the cheek. “I love you, see you when we get home tomorrow.”

                “Mm’kay, love you too.”

                Erwin walked to the door, stopping to elbow-bump Hange as he passed, and then they were alone together once more, finding the room to feel oddly empty. Levi looked to Hange with a curious glance and she smiled back at him.

                “One?”

                “Both?” Levi felt adventurous and rather turned on by his suggestion.

                “Oh, both, both is good!” Hange raced forward to clutch Levi tightly in a hug. He couldn’t believe he was about to let her do this.

                _I will never be able to walk around shirtless again._

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

                Erwin’s training was going about as smoothly as it could, considering it involved training the new cadets, each of the more seasoned soldiers was put in charge of a twenty-person group and it was their duty to train the cadets to use the 3DM gear and learn basic fighting skills. With the number of soldiers they lost in their last trip outside of the wall, they needed to train harder and better everyone’s skills, even the officers, and they certainly needed to replenish their numbers. Erwin was paired with a good friend of his, Mike, so the day wasn’t as boring and stressful as it could have been.

                “There are a few here that show potential, but certainly not all of them.” Mike was cleaning his gear while they watched the cadets eating lunch.

                “I agree, I’m sure half of them won’t show up next week.”

                “You sure you’ll show up next week?” Mike nudged Erwin and laughed. “You were nearly late this morning.”

                “Shut the fuck up, Mike.”

                “Hey, now, you know I won’t tell anybody, but someone else might not be so kind.” Mike was putting his gear back together and Erwin started to take his apart now that Mike was done with the cleaning supplies. “You really like him?”

                “Mike, please, shut up.” Erwin wanted to stay as hardcore as possible in front of the new cadets and blushing would ruin that.

                “He is a cute little twink, don’t get me wrong, but not someone I thought you’d go for.”

                “Don’t call him.” Erwin looked at him with a stern face, even though he knew Mike was joking.

                “Calm down, he’s a cute one though, and Hange seems to like him which is about the equivalent of getting a mother’s approval so, you’ve got that going for you.” Mike stood up to address the cadets. “Alright, on your feet, let’s do some nice hand-to-hand combat!”

                Mike paired the student apart and handed each of them a dull knife, walking them through the specific drills and maneuvers they needed to practice with each other, before returning to his perch next to Erwin. Erwin was cleaning his gear with more care than Mike was, noting that Mike’s gear kinked more often than his did, and he often warned him that that was going to get him killed one day.

                “Hange pulled her ‘let-me-pierce-your-nipple’ shit again.”

                “Please tell me you told him to do it, that woman works wonders.”

                “Shit, you would know, wouldn’t you Mike?” Erwin knew that Mike was an adventurous person and had more than just a nipple pierced by Hange, nothing else he wished for anyone else to have metal shoved through. “You freak.”

                “Hey, now, don’t knock it until you try it.”

                “Hey, watch the cheap shots!” Erwin threw a rock at one of the cadets who was kicking one of the other’s inner thighs. “Stop being an asshole, Kirstein!”

                “Someone is going to kick his ass one day, and that’s going to be a good day.” Mike latched the gear back onto his leather straps and settled down into the grass. “I’m banking on the Jaeger kid.”

                “Yea, maybe if he grows three inches and sprouts wings.” Erwin was now putting his gear back together. “But he is a tough son of a bitch, I’ll give you that.”

                “So, did you tell, what’s his name again, or can I just call him Twink?”

                “No, ass-face, you cannot call him Twink. His name is Levi, and I told him to get them if he wanted them but I doubt he will.” Erwin latched his gear in place also.

                “Levi.” Mike repeated the name. “He must be worth some nice to make goody-two-shoes-Smith miss training.”

                “That was one time.” Erwin shoved the man below him with his boot.

                “My ass, that’s why you were distracted and nearly got your head smashed in outside the wall.” Mike sounded a bit more serious with his tone. “I’m not quite ready to lose my best friend yet, unless you hate me that much.”

                “I think that’s the only reason I survived, to be honest with you.”

                “Oh?” Mike raised his eyebrows and perched his chin in one of his hands.

                “Yea, your woman keeps you safe doesn’t she?” Erwin knew that Mike loved his wife, as much as he joked about the cadets and how cute some of them could be. He had never known Mike to betray the woman he loved, but he did know that sometimes the cadets went missing on lunch breaks and Mike would frequently come back with fresh uniforms from home and they both would smell of perfume.

                “She does, she is a pretty great woman.”

                “Well, Levi keeps me safe, Mike, and I’d appreciate it if you would remember that and treat him in such a manner.” Erwin knew Mike meant nothing by his jokes regarding Levi but he still felt the need to set some boundaries.

                “I got ya, Smith.” Mike patted his knee and stood up. “Okay, gather the horses, we’re going to the trees.”

                They then took the cadets into the trees and let them practice around with the spare 3DM gear, getting each of them used to the push and pull of the straps. These cadets were going to be the future of the Survey Corps, provided none of them went for the Garrison or none of the top ten went for the Military Police. Erwin and Mike were positive they had a great group, but some of them weren’t suited for the gear, much less fighting actual titans. He and Mike demonstrated a few maneuvers and techniques they had learned through the years before letting them on their own to try the gear.

                “So, how’s that Commander position coming along?” Erwin had been looking into getting promoted to Commander when the time came along.

                “Ehh, I don’t really know, to be honest with you. Some of the other guys have a lot of connections and have a lot more titan kills behind them, and I’m sure none of them have gone down during such an important time outside of the wall like I did, I think that might have ruined my chances.” Erwin wiped the sweat from his brow and readjusted the strap across his chest. The thought of losing the Commander position really made Erwin angry, he had been working on it for some time and it was near time for the next commander to be chosen, though the spot wouldn’t be filled for a few more years.

                “If anything, you took down, what, fifteen titans by yourself and saved countless lives? Pixis has never paired with _me_ to kill a titan, I can tell you that, and he did it without a second thought for you. You guys chopped down that titan like old war buddies, like you fucking knew each other’s moves, like you could look at each other and know exactly what to do.” Mike gripped Erwin’s shoulders and shook him, as if trying to bring his thoughts together. “You’re a shoe-in if Pixis has any say in it.”

                “Shit, I hope he does then.” Erwin rubbed around his collar bone, he knew his neck was made for those bolo ties, and he intended to have one.

                “Being late for training, though, that won’t get you any closer to it.”

                “Yea, I know that.” Erwin chuckled and took a sip of his water. “I have to admit, though, I do not regret sleeping in that morning.”

                “You have to be careful though, Erwin. You know Hange and I don’t care, and the guys that run the stable might not, but you know that something like that could make people lose all respect for you, no matter how great you are at your job.  You could save the lives of a thousand of their children and all they could think of is who you bed.” Mike spat at the ground in disgust.

                “Well, if I wasn’t afraid of having Levi taken away from me, I would parade him through the streets. I could give two shits about my career.” Erwin scoffed as Mike gave him a warm smile. “If I thought I had the power to protect him, Levi would never leave my side.”

                “Have you ever thought about having him join, I mean, he could always be with you. Pixis would protect you, hell, by the time he graduated from being a cadet, you could be commander and then no one would ask any questions.”

                “No, I could never suggest that to him. If anything ever happened to him, I would be my fault, and then I would have nothing, plus, I think he likes what he does, the horses are everything to him.” Erwin stopped when one of the cadets came over to them, breathless and drenched in sweat. Erwin then realized that they had been in the trees for a few hours, he and Mike speaking for longer than he had thought. “What is it, Arlert?”

                “We have a few tanks that are out, sirs.” The blonde boy was sheepish, looking around as if he was waiting to be rescued by someone.

                “Alright, well, let’s go ahead and get camp set up for the night, we can refill the canisters and then get dinner started. How does that sound everybody?” Erwin chuckled as all of the cadets let out sounds of relief.

                Erwin and Mike led the cadets on horseback to a flat area of land, with a few trees for canopy and protection from the weather, should there be any, and everyone pitched in to help throw up the tents and set up a temporary corral for the horses. A fire was started and a vegetable stew created and set to boil just before the sun began to set. The cadets were tired but they wouldn’t resist a hot meal after a long day of training. The stew only took about an hour to finish and by then the horses were cooled off and set loose in the pen to graze for the evening.

                “Alright, cadets, let’s eat.” Erwin poured bowls of stew and Mike handed them out, being sure to include a chunk of bread to go along with them. “After this, we will lights-out, and then it will be early up in the morning.”

                The cadets ate quickly and soon all of them retired to their tents for the night, finding comfort in the sleep that they would only enjoy for a few hours; Erwin and Mike were left to themselves around the fire, of which the stew pot hand been removed from. They finally had a chance to relax now that their babysitting job was on hold for a few hours. They joked and ate for a little bit longer before parting to their respective tents.

                Erwin had only been asleep for around an hour when a shuffling came from outside of his tent, they had left the fire burning outside to ward of animals and it casted a large shadow into Erwin’s tents. Erwin slowly sat up and pushed his tent open, coming face-to-face with a giant, black mass of hair and fur, the smell of hay and _Levi_ filling his nose.

                “Heichou?” The large horse nickered at him, nuzzling his hair. “What are you doing out here?”

                Erwin knew there was no way that Heichou had found him by mistake, much less wandered out here on her own accord, she must have something for him. The mare had a small bag secured around the girth of her stomach, this signified to him that Levi wasn’t with her, but that he had just send Erwin something, which made the man particularly curious. Erwin crawled out of his tent and pulled the bag from the horse giving her a kiss on the neck and patting the round of her stomach. Before Erwin could do anything else, the mare turned and trotted off into the night, leaving him standing alone near the fire.

_I wonder what this is._ Erwin took the saddle bad to the tent and settled back down into his sleeping bag. He popped the buttons open on the bag and reached inside, finding only an envelope, peeking his interests even more. _How sweet, he wrote me a love note._

                “Oh…” Erwin was taken aback, it was, in fact, not a love note. Erwin pulled a photograph from the envelope and was absolutely floored with the sight in front of him. The photograph was of Levi, the medical office background made him believe it had to be Hange that had taken the picture, shirtless and blushing, his hand up trying to swat the camera away with no avail. Erwin could clearly see the man’s red face and, when he looked further down across Levi’s chest, two silver balls straddling each nipple.

                _Oh sweet god…_

“Whoa, Smith, put that thing away.” Mike came into the tent, pretending to shield his eyes away from the boner Erwin had started to sport.

                “Shut the fuck up.”

                “You didn’t catch the horse, why?” Mike sat cross legged next to Erwin, not caring if he invaded a moment.

                “That’s Levi’s horse, did she wake you?”

                “She must have been searching for you. I left my front flap open and she stuck her head in, scared the shit out of me, to be honest. That bitch is fucking massive.” Mike laughed and then suddenly snatched the photo from Erwin’s hands.

                “Mike, fucking quit!”

                “Oh shit, she brought you porn! He did it, fucking yea!” Mike howled, throwing his head back as Erwin pulled the photograph back, pressing it against his chest to protect the rest of what little dignity he could for Levi. “You’re a lucky son of a bitch, my girl won’t do that shit.”

                “Mike, you’re a nosey fucker, did you know that?”

                “It’s news to me.” Mike leaned back to lay down.

                “Gonna sleep here then?” Erwin tucked the photo back into the envelope and started to settle down for sleep. “Mike?”

                Erwin looked over to find the man already asleep, snoring quietly, he laughed at the sight and rolled on his side to face the man. It did not take Erwin long to drift to sleep, finding himself dreaming about Levi sleeping next to him and the angelic face that overtook the rough-looking man while they slept.

**~~~~~**

                The next day was one that Erwin wanted to go past very quickly, it was the only thing standing between him and Levi, and Levi’s new modifications, which he was very excited to meet. Most of Erwin and Mike’s day, after returning the cadets back to the barracks, was spent filling out paper work to detail their first evaluations of the cadets’ performance, strength, and overall ability, which would be taken to account when bringing them back for the next round of training; each of them must make an input on each cadet and neither could leave until they were all finished. Lunch came and went and Erwin soon became very impatient, feeling his need for Levi becoming too much.

                “So, uh, Mike?”

                “Nope, not a chance in hell, Smith. Finish your fucking paper work and then you can go be with the twink.” Mike scribbled a few more notes on the cadet’s paper he was working on and moved on to the next one.

                “I’m done with mine already, now I just have to wait on your slow ass. C’mon, I’ll do your chores for the next month, I’ll even take your night guard.” Erwin knew that Mike hated night watch, but he also knew Mike loved to watch Erwin come undone like he had since he met Levi.

                “How many more of yours do I have to do?” Mike had files smeared across his table, but Erwin kept all of his piled in an organized manner. Erwin grasped the small pile to his left and handed it over to Mike.

                “You have six you haven’t done.” Mike took them from him. “I would help but no one can fake your horrible handwriting, no matter how hard they tried.”

                “Yea, yea, enough with the sweet talking.” Mike waved his pen toward the door. “Now, get the fuck out of my face, I’ll let you know when I get night duty.”

                Erwin jumped up from the table, grabbed his coat from the back of his chair, and raced out of the door; he stopped to race back to Mike and kiss the man’s hair jokingly. Mike pushed him away, laughing as Erwin came back for more.

                “Get those twink kissers off of me, get the fuck out of here, before I change my mind!” Erwin patted Mike on the shoulders.

                “Thanks, man.”

                Erwin, as collectively as possible, made his way out of the barracks and into the busy streets, knowing he could find his way to the stable in his sleep; it was around three in the afternoon so he was sure Levi was at work, a sight he was always happy to see.  Erwin came up to the archway for the stables and peeked around the stone wall, looking for his lover in the yard, finding him and Heichou walking around the yard. The mare flicked her ears back in Erwin’s direction but didn’t do anything; Levi led her to a grassy pasture a few feet away and pushed her in, locking the door behind her. Levi walked back to the tack room and disappeared through the doorway, giving Erwin his chance to move. Erwin jumped through the door and was surprised to find Levi nowhere in sight, and then he heard the door slam behind him, turning to see Levi’s lustful face.

                “You do realize you are about as quite as a screaming child right?” Levi pushed him back onto a pile of hay and climbed into his lap, straddling the large man. “Plus, Heichou heard you anyways, even if I didn’t, she probably smelled you too.”

                “I’m sorry, I haven’t had a chance to shower since yesterday, I just really wanted to see you.” Erwin smiled and reached up to cup Levi’s face in his hands. “That and I kinda want to see you naked and wet anyways.”

                Levi chuckled and leaned down slowly to bring their lips together tangling his hands in Erwin’s messy hair, he sat his hips down and settled in the large man’s lap; Erwin snaked his arms around Levi’s back and pulled him roughly to his chest. Levi suddenly grabbed Erwin’s shoulders and pushed them away from each other, sucking in a harsh breath through his teeth.

                “Fuck, Erwin, careful.” Erwin then remembered Levi’s new additions, kissing the middle of the smaller man’s chest through his shirt while keeping eye contact with him.

                “What time do you get off? I really want to get this shirt off of you so I can see them.” Erwin tugged on the material, making Levi shiver because of the friction on his nipples.

                “Erwin…” Levi pulled the shirt from Erwin’s hands and tugged it over his head, dropping it onto the floor next to them.

                A small groan escaped Erwin’s lips as the metal was presented to him, the nipples looking to be painfully hard and red from irritation. Erwin pulled Levi closer to his body and carefully engulfed the left nipple into his mouth; Levi gasped and clutched Erwin’s shoulders letting his head drop back between his shoulders. He lapped gently at the sensitive skin and sucked at the metal.

                “Er-ahh-caref-Erwin!” Levi started to become hard against Erwin’s lap.

                _This is going to be so much fun._


	5. Patience is Key

Getting back to Levi’s house had been a complete blur, one moment Levi was writhing with his nipples in Erwin’s mouth in the tack room and the next they were on the living room floor with Levi straddling his lap pulling the straps of his uniform apart. Erwin reached up to touch Levi’s nipples again, growling when the smaller man leaned back out of his reach.

“I swear if you keep touching them, I will hit you with something.” Erwin knew they were still sore and probably hurt when he touched them, but getting his lips on them made Levi squirm so beautifully.

“Levi,” Erwin breathed out to his lover. “At least let me suck on them, you taste so good.”

Erwin flipped them over before Levi could refuse and began to attack his chest once more, taking the right nipple into his mouth this time and groaning around it as saliva dripped down Levi’s chest. He marveled in the sight of Levi arching his back with his mouth parted open, grasping for purchase against the floor beneath him; just the sight of Levi like this made Erwin feel like he would explode, but he was going to do his best to hold on as long as he could, they had a blissful night ahead of them.

“Erwin…please.” Levi was so sensitive; Erwin knew this had to be true because Levi would normally never top Erwin from doing this. “They still hurt, I’m sorry.”

“Mmm, no problem, babe.” Erwin pushed his hands down to Levi’s lap to rub the hardness waiting for him. “Better?”

Levi whimpered in response, nodding his head and pushing up into Erwin’s hand. Erwin gently massaged Levi’s cock through the thin riding pants and licked around the edges of sensitive nipples, nipping at the pale skin and kissing the metal knobs every so often. Levi could generate no words, no actions, he was in bliss and Erwin quite enjoyed the fact that Levi’s body had turned to mush. At the same time, however, the sight of Levi in such pleasure was bringing Erwin close to the edge also. Erwin grabbed Levi’s hips and pulled the man into his body as he shifted to his knees and onto his feet, walking them both into Levi’s room and settling on the bed.

“You look amazing with those by the way.” Erwin leaned up from Levi to rid himself of his shirt and leather straps, leaving himself and Levi in just pants. “I didn’t know if you were going to get them, but I have to admit, I am glad you did.”

“Mmm, me too, you seem to like them.” Levi leaned up to take Erwin’s mouth into a kiss, reached down to pull the belt from his pants and flick the button open. “You’ll never guess what else I got yesterday.”       

_Oh, I might be able to guess._ Levi reached behind his pillow, giving Erwin the opportunity to smack his ass, and presented his with a red satin bag. It was exactly what Erwin thought it was. Erwin chuckled and reached out to grasp the strings of the bag and pull them open, he reached in and out the bottle of oily lube.

“Kenny sure can come through.” Erwin had asked the protective man to find this for him when he went to Wall Maria.

“What?”

“I asked him to pick it up for me, I was going to surprise you myself but I guess him giving it to you was okay too.” Erwin set the bottle on the nightstand and watched as Levi rolled his eyes and returned his hands to Erwin’s pants. “Do you still want to?”

“Shut up.” Levi pushed Erwin back onto the bed and pushed his pants off of his legs, allowing Erwin’s hard cock to bounce back into place. Erwin sucked air in through his teeth as the cold air hit his flesh, but Levi was soon breathing hot hair over him. “I get to make you cum as many times as I want to, right?”

“Ahh, Levi.” Erwin bucked as soon as Levi’s lips were wrapped around him, feeling pleasure immediately start to pool in his stomach, Levi had already put him on edge.

“Now, don’t think you are going to get off this easy.” Levi pushed Erwin deep into his throat and hummed around him lightly, as if to make his suffer for the state he had left him in before going to training. Erwin’s hands went straight to Levi’s hair, grasping as he became blissfully close to his first release. Levi cupped Erwin’s balls with one hands and pumped the portion of Erwin’s cock that wasn’t buried deep in his mouth.

“I-if you don’t st-stop, I will.” Erwin arched a little as Levi licked the slit, collecting the precum on his tongue and swallowing it; Erwin let a shaky groan come from his mouth as Levi swallowed his entire cock once more, feeling the muscles of the man’s throat tighten around him. “Levi. Le-Levi!”

“Cum for me, big boy.” Levi pulled Erwin from his mouth just long enough to growl to his lover before slurping Erwin in as deep as he could, feeling tears prick in the corners of his eyes. Erwin moaned loudly from that statement and thrusted into Levi’s mouth, his cum shooting long, hot strings down Levi’s throat, but his erection did not go away. “Mmm, thank you, babe. You taste really good too.”

“That was incredibly hot.” Erwin chuckled and pulled Levi up to kiss him. “Keep talking like that and I won’t last all night like I want to.”

Erwin pulled the hem of Levi’s pants down with a harsh tug, freeing Levi’s cock and running his finger from his hole all the way up to the tip of his cock. Levi clutched Erwin’s shoulders and thrusted himself against Erwin’s hand. He had been just as pent up as Erwin and he really wanted his turn to cum, but he wanted to have Erwin buried inside him first, though.

“I want you in me so bad, Erwin.” Levi was breathing heavy against Erwin’s face, whimpering and mewling as the larger man teased his cock with just his one finger. Erwin pushed Levi down until he was laying comfortably and spread the man’s legs, settling in between them and perching on his left side to grab the bottle of oil.

“I have to stretch you,” Erwin licked a strip up the bottom of Levi’s cock, making the boy arch, precum dribbled from the head. “I’m going to do it until I think you’re ready, my love, and you will cum as many times as I want you to, understood?”

“Mmhm,” Levi arched again as Erwin sucked the head into his mouth. “Erwin!”

Erwin uncorked the bottle and dipped his index finger, coating it in the thick fluid, and began to circle Levi’s entrance; Levi pushed down and sucked Erwin’s finger into his body, Erwin bit back a sound as Levi moaned for him and reached down to touch himself.

 “Nope, mine.” Erwin pushed his hands away and took Levi’s balls into his mouth, sloppily licking the sac and base of his cock. Levi tucked his arms under his head and let his legs fall open, watching Erwin below him.

Erwin thrusted his finger inside of Levi, knowing the man could already take another but also wanting to take him time to be sure he didn’t hurt Levi by not prepping him enough. Erwin slicked up a second digit and pushed his was past Levi’s tight ring, knowing this would fill Levi up as much as he had ever had, but it was nowhere near Erwin’s own size. Levi also started to tense up at the pressure of the second finger, they had only ventured that far a few time before, but the pressure was also as pleasurable as it was painful.

“Let me know when, okay?” Erwin whispered up to Levi before taking the aching cock into his mouth with slow slurps. Levi gasped above him and pushed against the wall behind him, trying to take as much of Erwin into his body as possible.

“Little more oil.” Erwin uncapped the bottle again and removed his fingers, hearing Levi whimper at the emptiness. “Hurry…”

“Be patient, my love, you’ll regret it in the morning if we aren’t.” Erwin replaced his fingers, rubbing around to find Levi’s spot.

 “Nev-ahh! There…” Levi’s back lifted from the bed and he tried to bounce on Erwin’s fingers; Erwin obliged Levi’s want for more by thrusting his fingers in harder, deliberately striking the bundle of nerves that made Levi weak. “Erwin, gonna…”

“Cum, Levi.” Erwin reached up to pump Levi in rhythm with the thrusting of his fingers. Levi arched again and grabbed the pillow under his head, his thighs started to quiver and he braced himself against the bed to gain enough control to ride Erwin’s fingers.

“Er–” His breathing hitched and his sentence was interrupted as a moan erupted from his throat, cum pouring from his cock to coat his stomach and Erwin’s hand; Erwin’s cock twitched as he felt the pressure of Levi clenching around his fingers, he absolutely could not wait to feel that around himself. Levi continued to ride his orgasm out by slamming his hips down onto Erwin’s fingers and bucking into Erwin’s fist. “E-Erwin…fuck…fuck that was so good…”

Levi reached behind him to grab the towel that he conveniently placed on the bed post the night before and wiped his stomach off, letting Erwin wipe his hand off as well; Erwin started to pull out his fingers until Levi reached down to clutch his wrist. Erwin then noticed that Levi was already erect again, ready for more.

“More,” Levi rocked against Erwin’s fingers again.

“I can hardly wait to be inside you,” Erwin took Levi into his mouth once more, sucking eagerly as he pushed a third finger into Levi’s body, feeling his lover tighten more than ever before and whimper in pain. He let go of the man’s cock with a pop. “Too much?”

“N-no, just…just have to get used to it.” Erwin could feel that Levi was resisting the urge to pull up from him, but he didn’t want to feel empty again. Levi pushed down as far as he could to take in as much of the fingers as possible.

“Levi, slow down, we have all night.” Erwin softly tried to soothe the man, massaging closely to the bundle of nerves and dripping a bit more oil onto his fingers and letting it flow into him.

“Don’t want to…want you…” Levi reached under himself to spread his cheeks a bit more, he also touched Erwin’s hand and rubbed around his fingers. Erwin leaned down to lick around his fingers and the fingers Levi had just put there; Erwin sucked three of Levi’s fingers into his mouth and moaned around them, feeling Levi loosen up a bit as he arched his back.

Erwin pushed his fingers in ever so slightly until he could reach Levi’s spot, massaging it until Levi was leaking again and breathing heavily, legs twitching and mouth wide open to moan for him. Levi soon began to move on his own to ride Erwin’s fingers, a lot sooner than Erwin had expected, and took the man by surprise.

“E-Erwin…inside…please…” Levi was glistening with sweat again, writhing above him and begging for his cock.

Erwin groaned and began to rub himself against the mattress, the feeling of his aching cock becoming suddenly apparent to him. He spread his fingers out inside Levi but didn’t feel him tense, making the man even more aroused.

“I-I have to be honest…last night…I stretched myself a little because I got so worked up from thinking about you.” As soon as the words left Levi’s mouth Erwin removed his fingers and was suddenly above him, crashing their lips together grinding their cocks into each other with so much force Levi was sure he and Erwin were one.

“Ready?” Erwin was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control himself, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure Levi could either.

“Oh, yes, please.” Levi let his legs wrap loosely around Erwin’s waist as the man sat up and poured a generous amount of the lube on himself, ready to fill the emptiness he had left Levi with just a moment ago. He leaned forward to put his arms under Levi’s shoulder and pull him into a soft kiss. “Erwin…fill me…please…”

“Fuck, Levi,” Erwin reached down to take himself into his hand and line himself up to press his head against Levi’s hungry, puckering entrance.

Erwin pushed the head of his cock and an inch or so into Levi, instantly feeling the small man tighten around him and his body jolt; Levi cried out and dragged his nails over Erwin’s shoulders. Even though Erwin knew Levi was in pain, he became overwhelmed with how hot, wet, and enticing Levi’s body felt around his cock and groaned weakly, moaning for the smaller man.

“F-fill, ahh, fuck…” Levi was biting back tears but they began to stream over his cheeks, his entire body quivering and betraying him. He wanted nothing more to have Erwin completely filling him, but he was a little taken aback by the pain. “Deeper…”

“I-I can’t, Levi, I’m sorry.” Erwin kissed the tears from his face and then his lips. He felt his own body quivering and his thighs getting weaker from how pleasurable Levi’s body felt. “You feel so good. I’m afraid that if I move, I’ll cum…plus, you aren’t ready yet."

“The…the cum might help, ahh!” Erwin sat up a little, groaning deeply as he felt himself slip a little more into Levi’s body, he gripped at Levi’s thighs to steady himself but he found the sight of Levi below him to push him even closer to the edge.

Levi’s entire body was flushed and glistening, his eyes were half lidded with pupils blown from the lust, his arms were stretched out like wings by his side, where they fell when Erwin sat up; Levi’s legs were still wrapped around his waist, giving him the perfect view of where they were connected. Erwin was pushed a little less than halfway into Levi and his hole was stretched around his large cock, wide and red, Levi was half erect with a puddle of precum that had collected on his stomach and a string connecting it with his cock. Erwin reached down to pump Levi’s cock, watching as the man’s eyes rolled back into his head and he ever so slightly arched his back to moan Erwin’s name.

“R-relax, Levi, you’re too tight.” Erwin’s breathing became uneven the tighter Levi clenched around his length. He wanted to bury himself deep into Levi and pull the man into lap, but he couldn’t yet; he wanted to make Levi scream and cry out for him in undeniable pleasure, but he had to wait. Erwin needed to fight to control himself. He leaned forward to take one of Levi’s nipples into his mouth.

 “Erwin!” Levi’s legs jerked as the hot wetness surprised him. The sudden jerk of Levi’s legs, which were still wrapped around Erwin’s waist, plunged the larger man all the way into Levi’s body, filling him to the hilt. “Fuck! Ahh!”

“Goddamnit, Levi!” Erwin’s senses suddenly became overloaded and he found himself falling over the edge, his arms collapsed and he fell forward, his head just above Levi’s on the bed. “I can’t…I can’t…stop…L-Levi!”

Erwin reached one hand back to grasp Levi’s right thigh as he repeatedly pulled out and thrusted back into Levi’s tight heat of a body, cum filling the smaller man and pleasure filling Erwin. He could feel Levi clenching and tensing wildly around him as he screamed out for the smaller man.  Erwin thrusted a few more times as the last of his seed filled Levi, only then realizing that Levi had a hand tightly gripping his hair and another digging into his back, certainly breaking skin. Levi’s head was buried in the side of Erwin’s neck and his legs were trembled madly. Erwin felt Levi’s body shake, as if the man below him was silently sobbing. He started to pull away but his arms were completely unusable, one only staying up because he was still, somehow, holding onto Levi’s thigh. Erwin was sure he had never cum so hard in his life, and even coming down from his high felt amazing, he still saw stars, and loved the feeling of Levi’s body been filled with his cum.

“I-I’m so-sorry.” Erwin could hardly breath and it hitched when he felt Levi tweak his nipples. He leaned up slowly, some of his strength returning, and saw the tears had disappeared from the man’s face. The only look on Levi’s face was one of pure, unadulterated lust, and the sight caused a groan to rattle through his chest.

Levi and Erwin suddenly made eye contact and Levi _growled_ at him, the animalistic noise would have normally caused Erwin to harden instantly, but he still hadn’t softened since they started and his cock twitched inside of Levi.

“Please,” Levi touched Erwin’s face and slapped the closest skin to Erwin’s ass as he could. “Please fuck me again.”

 

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

The pain from Erwin shoving into him so suddenly had subsided as soon as the man’s cum filled his body, coating every inch of him in hot pleasure and serving as the exact thing they needed to get them to the point they wanted to be. Levi pushed Erwin from him, hating the feeling of emptiness that overtook him as cock fell from his body, and he moaned as the cum followed the larger man out. Levi turned over onto his stomach and pushed his ass into the air for Erwin to see, his balls and base covered in the white, sticky mess.

“Fuck…” Erwin leaned forward and pushed himself back into the inviting ring, finding almost no resistance. “Levi!”

“Fuck, Erwin, give it to me.” Levi braced himself against the wall as he felt Erwin thrust once, testing the waters. The pleasure that pulsed through his body was something indescribable and the fact that he had never felt this full before in his life rendered him speechless. “S-so full, Erwin, so good!”

Levi knew he sounded like a two-dollar whore, but right now that wasn’t something that concerned him. Erwin was pounding into from behind, his balls slapping against Levi’s and even slapping against the base of his cock. He was drooling, he could feel it, but he could also feel Erwin getting closer and closer to his prostate, and that was what he desired more than anything. The sound of their bodies slapping together and the wetness between them was one of the most delightful sounds he had ever heard, aside from Erwin moaning his name.

“L-Levi, you’re so hot, so tight.” Erwin reached his arms under Levi’s armpits and lifted him up from his doggy position and pulled out ever so slightly, just enough to turn Levi to face him once again. He slung Levi’s left leg over his shoulder and grasped Levi’s hips in his hands, letting the man’s other leg fall anywhere it wanted.

“Erw-ahh-fuck!” Levi’s arms had gone limp and all the man could do was arch his back and scream for the lover buried inside of him. “F-faster!”

Erwin gladly gave Levi everything he wanted, planting his knees firmly into the mattress and thrusting as fast as he could into the hot mess of a body Levi had to give him. Levi suddenly felt Erwin strike the delicious spot with a thrust to the left.

“Erwin! There! Erwin!” Levi reached up blindly to grab for whatever part of Erwin’s body he could reach. Erwin’s hot mouth caught three fingers from his left hands.

Levi’s body got weaker by the second, knowing he was approaching his release, and that would most likely be the last release his body could give for the night, but he didn’t want this to end, he never wanted any of it to end. He tightened himself around Erwin, hoping to give the man as much pleasure as he could.

“Fu…Levi…” Erwin could barely form any words due to the amount of pleasure that engulfed the entirety of his body. “Good…good boy.”

That was certainly something Levi wanted him to say more often, it was something Erwin would have to get into that habit of doing and he would be sure to tell him that. Erwin gave another hard thrust into the sweet bundle and his movements faltered for a moment, a loud groan falling from his mouth.

_He’s so close, I can feel it._ Levi gently grasped Erwin’s bottom lip in between his thumb and index finger and pulled him down to crash their lips together in a sloppy, passion filed kiss; this movement folded Levi almost in half, pushing Erwin even deeper into the depths of his body, if that were even possible. Erwin shivered and moaned against his lips and Levi certainly returned the noises without a second thought. He needed to cum, _they_ needed to cum, but it had to be together.

“E-Erwin, so close!” Levi breathed heavily against the man’s face and whimpered as Erwin licked a stripe up the man’s chest and over his nipples. “God, please, please make me cum, fuck me harder, cum with me.”

“Oh, fuck, Levi.” Erwin whimpered into his chest as he wrapped a weak arm under Levi, bringing them close together, but leaving enough space that he could reach in between them to pump Levi. The pleasure of Erwin’s hand sent Levi over the edge, being all he needed to scream for a final time and push down against the strong, blissful thrusts Erwin sent to his prostate.

“Cu-cumming, Erwin!” Levi threw his head back as he came with blinding force, streaking them both with thick lines of cum and raked his fingers against Erwin’s back. He felt himself clamp down on Erwin, barely giving him any room to move, but it didn’t faze Erwin one bit.

“Levi!” Erwin straightened his back as Levi came, letting his head drop back between his shoulders. Erwin allowed himself to nearly pull all the way out of Levi’s body before drilling back down, hard, to press the beautiful man into the mattress., once, twice, three more times before burying himself as deep as possible and once again filling Levi’s body with as much cum as his body could release. “Cumming! Fuck, yes!”

He thrusted slightly to finish out his orgasm and then collapsed to Levi’s right, thankful he didn’t crush the limp man under his weight. They were both out of breath, bodies numb and coated in sweat and cum, grasping to touch each other’s bodies, hoping this beautiful night had not been a dream. Erwin slung a weak arm over to take the towel from the other side of the bed and gently began to clean Levi, wanting _his_ Levi to be as comfortable as possible, he discarded it onto the floor and puled Levi into his chest.

“You…you will never understand how…a-fucking-mazing your body feels, Levi. I don’t think I could ever begin to describe it to you.” Erwin brushed his fingers across Levi’s blushed cheeks, feeling a smile creep across his face. Levi kissed Erwin’s hand and then leaned in as fast as his exhausted body could to bring their lips together in a loving, lazy kiss.

Levi couldn’t believe how beautiful Erwin looked, completely exhausted and empty of everything he had; the lustful eyes Levi saw when they started were now half lidded from release and pure bliss, clouded over and soft. His normally well kempt hair was completely wrecked and going in every direction possible, every strand soaked from sweat and some even stuck to his face. Both of their bodies twitched and convulsed from the muscles being overworked and completely robbed of all purpose for the time being.

“Bath?” Erwin knew just how to please Levi, wanting to make sure he was clean before sleep took them into the rest of the night.

“If I could walk, that would be amazing, but I barely have the strength to speak to you.” Levi chuckled and was suddenly lifted into the air after he felt the bed shift. “What-what are you doing? Erwin, no, you’re exhausted, you’ve been training all day!”

“Shut up and let me pamper you, Levi. I am exhausted, that is true but I will always be here to take care of you, especially when I have soiled your body.” Erwin carried him into the bathroom and placed him on the floor next to the tub, reaching over to turn the water on and fill the tub. Erwin and Levi both lowered themselves into the steaming water, moaning at the wonderful feeling of the water against their tired bodies.

They both washed slowly, Levi taking the time to be sure to get as much cum from inside him as he could, finding his body to be swollen and extremely sore. They pulled themselves, reluctantly, from the bath and dried each other off, finding comfort in the fact that neither had to leave, not sure if they would even if they had to. Levi quickly put fresh linens on the bed and got it ready for them to sleep in. He then remembered to take a quick look at his watch, becoming a little upset, something that Erwin picked up on.

“Do…do you regret what we did?” Erwin sheepishly asked the question, as if he were afraid of the answer.

“What?” Levi spun around quickly to face him, finding Erwin’s eyes keen on the ground. He rushed up to take that gentle giant’s face in his hands, chuckling. “No, stupid, but I did forget to tell you one important thing.”

“What?” Erwin cocked his thick eyebrow to the sky in confusion.

“Happy birthday, Erwin Smith, even if it is a day late.”

“Thank you.” Erwin had to admit that he had completely forgotten his own birthday. “I’m sorry, I was distracted, my boyfriend gave me the best birthday present anyone could ever ask for.”

“Yea?” Levi bit his lip.

“Mmhm.” Erwin wrapped his arms around Levi’s waist and pulled his in for a sweet kiss. “Ready for bed?”

“Mmhm.” Levi yawned and stretched, pressing back against Erwin’s arm.

“I love you, Levi.” Erwin pressed a kiss to Levi’s temple.

“I love you, Erwin, with all my heart.”

They flopped down onto the bed, pulling the thick blankets up over their naked bodies, and tangled their limbs together in a lover’s embrace, bodies becoming heavy as the sleep finally took them. Levi only woke once during the night, afraid the whole thing had been a dream, but was soon comforted by the sound of Erwin’s deep, low snoring and thick arms wrapped around his torso.

_Happy birthday, Erwin._


	6. Bolo Boy

“Erwin!” Levi woke at the sound of a tapping at Erwin’s door, interrupting their after-sex napping. “For fuck’s sake, get up!”

Erwin stirred and gripped Levi tighter, but he did not wake up. Levi pulled himself from the bed and dressed quickly, some people knew he visited Erwin but anyone who address the sleeping man by his first name was someone Levi didn’t need to worry about seeing Erwin sleeping shirtless in the bed with the blankets wrinkled.

“Goddamnit, man, you sleep like a fucking rock!” Levi pulled the door open slightly, just to take a peek at who was outside. “Thank fu– oh, Levi, hi.”

Mike stood outside the door, followed by a gentleman that Levi did not recognize, but he did see that he wore a cadet emblem on his jacket. Mike was breathing heavily and looking behind Levi to see if Erwin was inside.

“Hey, Mike, Erwin is sleeping, what’s wrong?” Mike pushed past the smaller men gently.

“You fucking lug, get up!” He reached for the blanket, no noticing the clothes under his feet.

“D-don’t pull those.” Levi mumbled, knowing he was probably blushing, especially because of the new guy still standing in the doorway.

“Shit, right.” Mike pulled the pillow from under Erwin’s head and hit him in the face with it.

“Damn, Mike, I’m awake.” Erwin had woken as the pillow was removed. “What the fuck are you screaming for?”

“They’re voting, right now!”

“What are you talking about?”

 “For Commander, they are voting right now, with the King!” Mike picked the clothes off the floor and tossed them to Erwin. “Get the fuck up, you need to go, now!”

“Holy shit!” Erwin almost jumped from the bed then, before remembering he was naked underneath. “Alright, give me just a sec to get dressed. Wait, why is Kirstein in my room?”

 “Dude, I don’t know, he was walking in the hall, do you really have time for this?”

“Well, unless you want to see my dick, get the fuck out of my room!” Erwin jumped from the bed just as soon as the door closed and began to pull on his clothes, buttoning his shirt wrong in the process.

“Babe, Erwin!” Levi took Erwin’s face into his hands and smiled at the man, trying to calm his nerves. “Take a breath, you look a mess.”

Levi fixed all the buttons on Erwin’s shirt and helped him get all his straps fastened properly. Erwin took a look in the mirror to be sure he looked proper and correct before pulling on his green robe and attaching it around his shoulders.

“Good luck, Erwin.” Levi had also pulled his clothes back into their proper place and leaned up to pull the man into a kiss.

“Thank you, are you going to stay here or go back to the stables?”

“I’ll probably go back to the stables, we have the cadets picking horses and I need to get a feel for how they work.” They both walked to the door together

“Okay, see you whenever I get back then. I’ll come by your place when I’m done.” Erwin ruffled Levi’s hair and gave him a quick pack on the corner of his mouth.

“You better bring me good news.” They walked out of Erwin’s room and Erwin ran on past him to catch up to Nile, who was waiting alone at the end of the hall. Levi smirked as they disappeared and pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants as he walked back to the stables.

Levi passed through the archway and was knocked sideways when a few cadets ran past him in a run, trying to get into the stable yard. The stable was scheduled to accommodate the new cadet, ones that had passed the training screening Erwin and the other officers had been doing over the past few weeks, with their own horses. It was Levi’s job to assign horses today, which he was not fully ready for because he hated dealing with people.

 “Good afternoon, Levi.” Kenny and Mr. Lake met him at Heichou’s stall as he brushed the mare in preparation to show her off to the new cadets. “Ready to match everyone?”

“Do you have the first aid kit for all the kids that are going to get bit?” Levi put the brushes back on the wall and hauled himself onto the mare’s back. “It’s not going to go very well; I can see it already.”

The cadets had already been lined up near the paddock where all the new horses had been released to graze. Levi rode Heichou near the front of the group and they all had to look up to him, the mare putting him higher than their heads, and Levi could see the man that had been outside Erwin’s door, _Kirstein._ All of the cadets’ attention immediately flashed to Levi, most of them looking at him with excited eyes.

“Alright,” Heichou stopped near the middle of the front row. “My name is Levi, I manage the care and upkeep of these horses, therefore, I have been entrusted with the responsibility of matching you with the correct horse.”

Levi took a moment to look over the crowd of around sixty cadets once more, finding a few of them to be look nervous, and some of them refusing to meet his eye contact at all. None of these cadets knew Levi, he was fully aware of the resting-bitch-face he had and frequently displayed to new people, and he found most of them to already aggravate him because none of them looked like they would have the slightest idea about what to do with the animals.

“Do any of you have any experience with horses?” A few hands went up and Levi glared at them, making a few people’s eyes widen in fear of the smaller man. “You can put your hands down because from this point on, your knowledge is worth shit.”

Levi watched as their hands dropped back down to their sides and a few of them shifted in their place.

“The horses in front of you are bred specifically to be fast and hardcore, they are not scared of you. They will, I repeat, they will kick the shit out of you and rip your skin open. You think Titans are scary, those fuckers with eat you and it’s over, these guys here,” Levi pointed over his shoulder to motion to the horses. “These guys will rip you open and leave you there to bleed to death, trust me.”

Levi looked toward Mr. Lake and Kenny, receiving a nod of approval, pushing him to continue with his speech.

“You will get to meet the horses today in the open pasture, which is the safest way to do so. You are allowed to approach the horses but I do not recommend trying to touch them. You are not here to pick your horses; despite what you may have been told, you are here so the horses can pick you.” Levi paused when one of the cadet’s hand went up. It was a shorter boy with green eyes and shaggy brown hair. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry, this might be off topic–”

“Is it a necessary question?” Levi started to address the boy but realized he didn’t know his name.

“Jaeger, he doesn’t give a shit about your question, can it.” The gentleman from earlier barked over to the green eyed boy, pulling a growl from his throat.

“You can it, asshat.” Jaeger spat back.

“Alright, so we have our first two volunteers, fabulous.” Levi slid down Heichou’s back and walked over to the gate of the enclosed field. “In you go, boys.”

Levi pulled the gate opened and motioned for the arguing cadets to walk in, hardening his gaze as they both hesitated. The taller man from earlier today squared himself and took a step forward toward Levi, his fists pressed to his sides; he made it just past Heichou’s path before the mare did her job. Heichou snapped and charged forward, squealing at the man, and reared high into the air just as he tumbled back onto the ground, dirt covering his uniform. The mare came down hard, her large hooves slamming down to the ground on either side of Kirstein’s torso and snapped her teeth together a few inches from his nose; the boy was visibly shaken and had the wind knocked from his lungs. Heichou shifted her head to look at the crowd of cadets and Levi watched as they all flinched and began to recede into one another, breaking formation and gasping as they ran into one another.

“She weighs about four hundred pounds more than they do and moves a lot slower. Oh, and she is _not_ bred for that purpose. You should expect this from these horses at all times when you are inside that field with them. They can smell fear, so I suggest you all buck the fuck up now and put your big kid panties on.” Levi moved to Heichou and patted the mare on the neck. She rubbed her large head on his chest and nickered lowly before moving away from the boy below her as if he had never existed. “Get up and rejoin the others, you aren’t ready yet. Never drop to the ground like he did, you will get stomped on and you will most likely die. You can’t run from them because they are faster than you and it will only entice them more.”

“So,” A shorter boy with blonde hair rose a shaky hand. “So, what…what do we do if they do charge us?”

“I’ll protect you, Armin.” The Jaeger boy gripped his shoulder but Armin looked at him with a glance that led Jaeger to believe he did not expect much from the taller boy. Armin looked back to Levi and gulped harshly.

“Pray they don’t.” Levi listened to the antsy noises the group made. He looked down to the boy still laying on the ground who was still trying to catch his breath. “Oi, I said get up, go catch your breath somewhere that isn’t in the way, she didn’t hurt you.”

Kirstein pulled himself from the ground and disappeared somewhere into the crowd, a freckled boy helping him brush his jacket off. Pixis came forward from the side where a few officers were standing and began delegating the cadets into groups of six, each of which would take their turn getting their horses. Levi took a lead rope and halter into his hands after the groups were handed the same tools, to demonstrate the procedure for gathering the animals.

“Now, when you get inside, please, like I said, do not just walk up to a horse just because you like the way it looks.” Levi motioned the cadets to like the fence, to get a better view, and he walked inside. “These horses already know me so it will not be this easy for you. Keep the lead rope and halter behind your back, the more horses that can see it the more horses will avoid you.”

Levi put the restraints behind his back and walked up the horse that was the closest to the fence. He walked the cadets through a few more cautious details about their field of view and their power before lacing the halter gingerly around the horse’s face and clutching the lead rope.

“These horses have been haltered before, so if you are able to get it on their face and them not snag a chunk of your flesh in their mouth in the process, you know you have found the right one. The horses will not come out and attack you unless they feel threatened or you make a sudden movement that they just particularly don’t like. Don’t walk in here like you are some big, hot shot horse whisperer or some shit because you will learn a quick lesson in their ability to lay your ass out, as has been demonstrated.”

Levi released the horse and welcomed the first group into the fence, watching them as they stood waiting for the horses to come up to them. The last connection from the first group Levi couldn’t had made better himself, it was a match made in heaven. A young girl with a brown ponytail stood in between seven horses, sweat rolling down the back of her neck because none of the horses were paying her any attention and a few of them had the rumps pointed in her direction, making her not want to move at all. She looked like she was going to panic when she pulled a potato out of her jacket pocket almost instinctually and began to munch on it, looking to all the horses in fear. Levi was about to take a step forward when a dapple grey horse from across the field came trotting in her direction, pushing all the other horses out of the way.

“Oh no!” The young girl squeaked and threw her arms up and out, straight in front of her, the potato still in her hands, and cringed towards the ground.

The horse softly gripped its teeth around the potato and bit half of it off, munching it and bumping the girl’s hand that still had the potato in it. She opened one eye and slowly lowered her arms, the horse stepping forward to follow her hand down to her side, sniffing and tugging softly at her pockets to look for more food. The horse licked her hand and coaxed the rest of the potato from her palm, chewing it and lifting its head to blow hot air on the girl’s face before assaulting her with slimy licks of its tongue.

“Well, there we go.” Levi chuckled a little bit as the girl slipped her halter over the horse’s head and lead her out the gate.

It took another hour to get the horses matched with their cadets, most of which went without a hitch, however, there were a few more memorable connections. The Armin boy was matched with a tall, light brown, burly haired horse that was just a shy as he was, the horse had been standing away from the rest of the herd when Armin walked into the gate; Armin had been waiting for a horse to come up to him, with his back to the shy horse, when the stallion approached to him and grasped his jacket between his teeth to lift the shorter man from the ground and carry him out of the paddock. Jaeger wasn’t paying attention and bumped directly into a large brown mare, the horse lifted its head and stared him directly in the eyes, nickering angrily; Jaeger then growled at the horse, as if Levi hadn’t told them to be cautious, and the horse nickered louder.

“Grr!” Jaeger growled a with more power, pushing his forehead against the horse’s face. The horse slammed Jaeger to the ground and squealed at him, huffing a deep breath into his eyes. “Grahh!”

Jaeger screaming to the horse and they stayed that way for just a moment before it nuzzled into his hair and gripped his shirt in its teeth, helping the boy to his feet so he could fasten the halter and lead the horse away. A black haired girl jumped right over the fence, walked over to a black horse, and pulled the animal’s face into her hands to stare into its eyes before giving it a gentle kiss on the nose. Kirstein had a white horse walk up to him and allowed the boy to touch her, she then pinned her ears and took a step back before charging at him with her head tucked low to the ground.

“Shit, fuck!” Kirstein took a step back and ran in the opposite direction, the horse trotting after him with its tale tipped high into the air. The boy suddenly stopped mid run and turned back to face the horse and the horse skidded to a stop, looking Kirstein in the eyes; the horse suddenly wheeled around to run away from the boy and he chased him back. They chased each other for a few more minutes before Kirstein was able to halter the tall beast and haul it from the field.

While the cadets were busy getting to know the horses and getting a feel for how the horses worked, Levi was more interested in Erwin behind the most inner wall, face to face with the king and his other competitors. It had been a few hours already and they had yet to hear anything about a decision, things like this were usually over quickly but it was already midafternoon. Levi, to pass the time, walked around to each stall to see that each cadet had their horse settling in, finding most of them grooming their new friend or talking to them.

“Excuse me,” Levi stopped when he started to pass a stall and was called for, it was Kirstein and he was standing around the back of his horse.

“Yea?” Levi stepped into the stall and around to the boy, finding that he toward over Levi. Kirstein took Levi by the arm and pressed him up against the back of the stall, getting into his face. “Dude, what the fuck?”

“You think you’re funny, don’t you? Having your horse knock me down in front of all my friends?” He gripped both of Levi’s arms in his large hands and knocked him against the wall again like a rag doll. “Just because you get in the sheets with one of my superiors, you think it’s okay to pull that shit with me?”

“Excuse me?” Levi growled into the boy’s face and clenched his fists.

“Did I fucking stutter? You think just because you’re fucking the guy who could be the next Commander–” Levi took this moment to bring his knee up and shove it into the angled man’s chest, knocking the wind out of him for the second time today and causing him to drop to his knees. Levi then slung his leg around to connect his calf to the side of Kirstein’s shoulder once and drop him into the hay.

“Jean!” The freckled boy from earlier appeared once more and dashed into the stall. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Jean jumped up from the ground and drove his shoulders into Levi’s stomach, lifting him off his feet and pushed him into the wall. Levi was smashed into with the force you would expect to come from a bulkier man such as Erwin, not one skinny like himself, and he felt the wind leave his chest quickly, along with his thoughts as his head cracked back against the wall.

“Jean!”

“Goddamnit, Marco, what?”

“Kirstein!” A familiar voice bellowed out the boy’s name.

 

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Erwin found himself outside the King’s castle sitting on a bench, staring confusingly down into his hands where a green bolo tie rested in his palms. He found himself to be the only person in the running for Commander invited to the King’s castle, let alone into his office.

_No one else has come close to the solider you have become. You are certainly the man for the job, Smith._ Those words were ones Erwin was sure he would be able to play in his mind for the rest of his life. The King and the current Commander had been able to choose him without deliberation for the others, it had been a unanimous and almost immediate decision, or so he was told, but they had to wait until today to tell him.

“Erwin!” Nile and Mike came running down the way to where he was seated. They obviously did not notice the glimmering gem in his hands. “How did it go? Where is everyone else, were they already in there when you arrived? Did I not get you there in time this morning? Fucking shit, I’m gonna puke, I’m sorry, man!”

“I got it…” Erwin only heard the sentence as it brushed from his lips, barely audible.

“What?” Nile sat down next to him and leaned in to have his friend repeat the comment but the sun caused the gem to glimmer before he could request that Erwin speak up. “Yes! You lucky son of a bitch, what’d I tell you!”

Nile howled with laughter and pulled Erwin up to wrap the shocked man in a tight hug, passing him to Mike who did the same before taking Erwin’s hands in his own to have a closer look at the tie. This was an achievement only the greatest of soldiers could ever live to experience and it hadn’t even registered in Erwin’s mind as being reality.

“Put that fucker on before you drop it, what are you waiting for?” Erwin looked at the gem in his grip, shaky hands stuffing into his zipper pocket and securing it closed.

“I can’t yet, I have to wait. Commander Shadis will be announcing it tonight just as soon as we return.”

“Damn, I’ve never wanted to kiss a man, but…” Mike raised his eyebrow and flashed Erwin a seductive, yet sarcastic, look.

“Now, that’s filthy lie and you should be ashamed of yourself.” Nile chuckled as Mike flipped him off.

“It really is, Mike.” Erwin laughed as he gripped the pocket to feel the tie’s impression against his fingers.

They started the long travel back to the outer wall, mounting their horses and riding back to the boat that would ship them to their respective area of residence. They talked a lot about what Erwin’s new position would mean, especially for a man that had been used to taking orders, not giving them very often, and especially not making the orders.

“Well, they said Commander Shadis will stay in control until the end of the year and then I will take over when he retires down the chain.”

“So, you can wear the tie but can you give us direct orders?” Mike raised his eyebrow and braced himself as the boat began to move.

“Well, yes and no. I can give an order and, I guess because of the fact that I was chosen, you have to listen to it, but if Shadis gives you one different from mine you have to follow his instead.”

“So, Shadis had final say until the end of the year? I got it.” Nile smoothed his hair back. “There’s been word spreading that they’re looking for a Commander for us to, I think I might be in the running for it.”

“Shit, I can already feel the stress, good luck with that shit.” Erwin ran a still shaky hand through his hair but tried his best to be sure not to dislodge it more than it already had been with the sweating that covered his forehead earlier that day in the King’s office.

“I wonder if everyone else has heard about it yet.” Mike leaned forward to brace himself against his knees.

“Shadis said that other than me, only he and the King know the decision has been made.” Erwin reached to his pocket for the tie once more. “I’m pretty the other guys know by now though since Mike had to rush in to my room screaming bloody murder this morning.”

“Hey, Shadis asked me to come get you this morning because he couldn’t find you. You were _supposed_ to be at your post this morning, but you were busy posting some _one_ else. I had to cover for your ass when a cadet asked me if they still had training this morning because they couldn’t find you.” Mike leaned back against the seat of the boat and crossed an ankle across his knee and laughed.

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Erwin winked as Nile covered his ears.

“Alright, you nasty fucks, that’s enough.” Mike and Erwin howled loudly and nudged Nile with their boots, knowing the man was about as straight as you could get, not delving into the same dark arts as his friends did.

Erwin spent the rest of the ride happy, he couldn’t wait to tell Levi and see the smile that stretched across his lover’s face. He was ready to show off his tie, something Levi had been especially ready to see wrapped around his neck, and he was certainly ready for the celebration they had been tossing around. They finally made it back to Wall Maria and moved the horses as quickly as they could through the crowded streets to get back to the stables before nightfall came. They were met just inside the archway by three stable hands that took their horses for them and they walked straight into the yard.

“Looks like everyone has a horse.” Erwin looked around the yard for Levi but didn’t see him, he did, however, see a rather large group of cadets gathered around a stall.

“Kick his ass!” Jaeger was jumping around the back of the crowd trying to get a better view into the stall. The three men jogged to the group and pushed their way to the front.

The horse had been pulled from the stall and was standing outside of it while two boy brawled inside. Kirstein had Levi, gasping for breath and kicking above him, pushed into the wall, growls spilling from their mouths. Erwin almost stormed into the stall and ripped the cadet’s head from his shoulders but he had to be careful with the protection and affection he showed towards Levi, especially when they were surrounded by other soldiers.

“Bott, what the fuck is going on here?” Erwin scowled and was about to step in when the younger cadet called out to Kirstein, pulling his attention away from Levi for just a moment. “Kirstein!”

A smirk stretched across Levi’s face as he took this opportunity to bring an elbow down to connect with the top of Kirstein’s head, a horrible cracking noise resonating through the box, and he was dropped as the boy sunk to his knees and clutched his skull. Levi gripped him by the shoulders and connected Kirstein’s nose with his knee, ending the sparring match by pulling his leg back and smacking the side of the boy’s face with a kick hard enough to make his head bounce of the wall of the stall.

“Levi.” Erwin breathed out as he watched blood drip from his lover’s cracked lip, but he had to resist the urge to pull the small man into his arms and check him for more injuries. Levi spat blood in Kirstein’s direction as Marco jumped in to pull the dazed man to his feet. “Get him out of here, Bott!”

“Yes, sir!” Erwin moved as the cadet slip by him, following the two of them back through the crowd.

“Fuck yea, take that you jerk ass son of a bitch!” Jaeger kicked dirt in Kirstein’s direction.

“Enough!” Erwin barked to the cadets, bringing their attention back to him. “Get back to the barracks, report to the meeting hall, Commander Shadis’ orders, Zacharius will accompany you all back.”

Mike nodded, turning to push a few straggling cadets forward by the back of their heads, and Nile took the horse so the cadet holding it could leave. As soon as the cadets were out of ear shot Erwin rushed forward to attend to Levi. Nile cleared his throat, pulling Erwin’s attention to him for just a moment, motioning that he was going to take the horse for a quick walk around the stables to give them a moment. Erwin sent him a thankful smile as he walked away.

“Levi, my god, are you okay?” Erwin tried to pull his lover’s face to look up at him.

“Erwin!” Levi reached up to touch him but Erwin snagged the hands with his own.

“Levi.” Levi’s eyes meet Erwin’s worried blues as he ran his thumb across Levi’s busted lip. “What the fuck happened?”

Levi took a moment to explain everything to Erwin, rushing over the details in an attempt to bring the conversation back to the fact that Erwin had returned form the most inner wall, desperately needing to know if he had achieved his goal.

“Erwin, I’m fine, did you–”

“Levi, stop, please.” He cupped Levi’s face in his hands. “Are. You. Okay?”

“Erwin,” Levi kissed the hands cupping his left cheeks and smiled up to his lover. “I take kicks to the gut a couple times _a week_. I’m fine, a cut lip, that’s all. Please, tell me what happened up there!”

Erwin smiled for the first time since setting eyes on Levi’s face and reached to his pocket, unzipping the fabric, and pulled out the green bolo for Levi to see. Levi looked down and gingerly took the ornament in his hands as if feeling it to make sure it was a real thing.

“Erwin, I’m so happy for you!” Levi wrapped his arms around Erwin’s neck as the giant man pulled his feet from the ground and wrapped him in a crushing hug. Levi flinch as Erwin’s arms closed in around his ribs and a hiss split through his teeth. “Ow…”

“See, you aren’t okay.” Erwin was about to tug Levi’s shirt off to examine his ribs when the sounds of a clearing throat came from the doorway, Nile had returned with the horse. Erwin had to report to the meeting because it was one specially to announce his new position and what kind of Commander would he look like if he missed his own induction ceremony. “I-I’m sorry, Levi, I have to go, we have to hold the ceremony for the official announcement.”

“I wish I could be there for you.” Erwin placed a quick peck on Levi’s lips before Nile was gripping him by the elbow to pull him away.

“Sorry.” Nile chuckled before handing him the lead rope to Levi.

The two men raced back to the barracks, Erwin’s green robe floating behind him, and they made it in time to meet Commander Shadis in the hall near the door that led to the front of the room, the man’s eyes were ringed in black but he had a warm smile spread across his face. Nile wasn’t part of the Survey Corps but he was welcome to attend this ceremony without question, especially since it was something Erwin was the main attention of and Commander Shadis wasn’t about to step in their way. Nile slipped down the hall to door the other soldiers had entered through to take his spot near the back of the room.

“Ready, Smith?” Shadis reached out to grip his shoulders and shake him gently. “Still hasn’t sunk in yet, has it?”

It really hadn’t and Erwin wasn’t sure how long it would take before he realized he was about to be in charge of so many lives, of such a large group of people, one of which he already wanted to rip apart with his bare hands. The Commander clapped his hands on Erwin’s shoulders once more before walking in through the doors and leaving Erwin in the hall to wait for him to call him into the room. He really wished Levi was here.

“Soldiers, salute!” Shadis called the entire Survey Corps to attention, the large room being filled to the brim with people saluting their Commander. “Good evening and thank you all for gathering here on such short notice, and I would like to extend an apology to the cadets for interrupting their assignment at the stables. You may all take a seat.”

In unison, the whole room fell to a seated position, with the exception of those who did not have a seat available to them, and a silence fell over the room in preparation for the Commander’s words. Commander Shadis did not take a seat but rather began to pace back and forth on the small stage the stood out in the front of the room, taking a moment to look over the entire unit of soldiers before him.

“As the majority of you have been under the impression of, I will be retiring from my position, but what you did not know is that I will be doing it at the end of this year instead of in the next few years, as is the norm. As many of you may also know, a few of the elite soldiers have been considered for this position and have been under strict examination in preparation for this change.” Shadis paused for a moment to take in the faces of the cadets, who had just become accustom to his way of teaching, and watched the worry creep into their eyes. “Earlier this morning, in the presence of the King, a new Commander was chosen.”

Erwin could see through the window of the door that the other soldiers that had been in the running against him squared their uniforms and had a smile on their face; the sight of those soldiers readying themselves to have their names announced made Erwin chuckle and straighten his hair. He was suddenly so proud of himself.

“The both of us will be in command until the end of the year but for the most part I will be preparing him and myself for my step down, therefore, he will be the one mostly giving orders. The soldier in question has shown much progress over the past year or so and saved dozens, if not hundreds of lives and I am proud to give him my position as I step down.” Shadis stopped pacing and pointed his arm out toward the door in front of Erwin and he knew it was his time to step forward. “Soldiers of the Survey Corps, I give you your new Commander, Erwin Smith.”

Erwin pushed the door open and walked calmly to the stage to join Shadis, pulling the bolo tie from his pocket to grip in his palm. Upon stepping to the stage Erwin could see that the majority of the soldiers were smiling because many of them had been personally rooting for him, but he did notice that the other competitors’ faces had loss in their eyes even though they had forced smiles; Erwin knew the soldiers he had been up against were happy for him despite their attitude right now because he had prepared himself to lose to them and he understood how they were feeling in this moment. Erwin was taken aback when claps filled the room, people rising from their seats or pushing their leaning bodies to stand firmly on the ground to clap for him. Shadis chuckled when Erwin gripped the tie harder and firmly planted his feet on the stage with pride.

“Alright, alright, we can congratulate him in a few minutes.” Shadis waved the crowd back down to their seats and waited for them to quiet down before continuing. “Alright, Smith, put it on.”

Erwin brought the bolo tie over his head and tugged it to its proper place around his neck, he was able to finally to take a moment to enjoy the beautiful weight of the gem sitting on his collar bone. Erwin looked at Shadis and the Commander smiled while shaking his head is approval. Shadis turned to the crowd of soldiers and pulled them all into a salute.

“Ladies and gentleman, Erwin Smith, the thirteenth Commander of the Survey Corps.”

Everyone stood once more to clap for Erwin, walking forward to clap grasp his shoulder and shake his hands, well, everyone but Jean Kirstein. The boy stayed close to the back of the room; he had been mad at Erwin since he was nearly failed from the cadet program due to the review Erwin left in his file that called him out on his jerk, assholey behavior and his care only for himself. Erwin, however, was perfectly fine with the cadet staying in the back because he was ready to break the boy’s fingers for laying a hand on his lover. Kirstein was certainly one that would not adapt to his new Commander very quickly but Erwin was not concerned about that in the least.

The ceremony was more or less over after everyone made their rounds to congratulate Erwin but it continued on into dinner when they had cake for dessert and everyone was allowed a drink, even those cadets that were underage. With full bellies and buzzing heads, the ceremony ended as soldiers left the dining hall to their rooms where they could invest in some much welcome rest after a long day of training. Erwin, on the other hand, hadn’t had much to drink because he had a night planned with Levi and he wanted to have a clear head for that.

“Happy Commander Day, Erry!” Nile and Erwin hauled their drunk friend back to his room and dropped him onto the bed.

“Thank you, you drunk idiot.” Erwin chuckled and threw the blanket over Mike. Nile accompanied Erwin from the building but parted with him at the entrance to the barracks, bidding him a goodnight and returning to his own barracks further inter the city.

The sun had already set and by the time Erwin made it to Levi’s front door it was nearly ten at night, but Erwin knew that Levi would still be up and waiting for him to arrive. Before Erwin could knock on the door it was pulled open to reveal a _naked_ , very naked Levi with only the glowing of a fireplace dancing across his skin.

“Good evening, _Commander._ ” Levi growled seductively and reached up to take the bolo tie in his hands, dragging Erwin into the house and slamming the door behind him.


	7. Please, Don't Hate Me.

Erwin made up his mind, in this very moment, that Levi could never look as beautiful as he did right now. Levi’s chest was heaving and his piercings were glimmering in the light of the fire as his head pressed back into the mound of blankets he had set up for them on the living room floor just a yard away from the fireplace; Erwin’s bolo had found it’s was around Levi’s neck and was resting against his sweating skin. Levi was in charge of Erwin tonight and Erwin wasn’t sure he ever wanted his freedom back.

“M-more…” Levi pressed himself further into Erwin’s mouth.

“Yes, sir.” Erwin pulled back just long enough to suck a few of his own fingers into his mouth to coat them.

Erwin drug his fingers down, painfully slow, over Levi’s cock and down to his balls with feather-light touches until he reached the hot, waiting hole where he circled slowly and applied light pressure; Erwin ran his tongue against the bottom of Levi’s cock to suck on the hot flesh. Levi’s back arched and he let a long, low groan from his lips.

“Erwin…hurry…want you now, please…” Levi tangled his left hand in Erwin’s hair and traced his fingers down the man’s cheek to feel the lips providing him with so much pleasure.

“I’m sorry, sir, I can’t do that.” Erwin sucked the head into his mouth, along with one of Levi’s fingers, before pushing one digit into the hungry, fluttering hole. Levi immediately pushed himself all the way down to the knuckle to signal that he was already ready for more. “So greedy, _Commander_.”

Levi gasped and started to slowly buck into Erwin’s mouth, gripping the sheets as if he was going to float away at any moment. Erwin released the finger and sucked Levi deep into his throat along with spreading his free hand over the man’s pale hips to drag his nails across the skin; Erwin smiled around the hard cock and bobbed softly as he added a second finger to stretch Levi as quickly but efficiently as possible, knowing he could take much more than that.

“Erwin, please, faster!” Levi lifted himself up onto his elbows and tried to push deeper into Erwin’s throat but also further down onto his fingers, both counteracting each other.

“Yes, sir.” Erwin added the third finger and thrusted quickly into Levi to search for the nerves that he loved so much. Levi braced himself against the floor and rode Erwin’s fingers, making noises that caused Erwin’s cock to start _leaking_ with anticipation.

“E-Er!” Levi threw his head back behind his shoulders and Erwin could feel his tighten around his fingers as he brushed over the textured spot in Levi’s body; Levi slammed himself down and nearly pulled himself completely from Erwin’s mouth in the process. “Swallow me, Erwin!”

Erwin leaned forward to hollow his cheeks around the aching cock until he was pressing his nose into the black trail that led down the lower part of Levi’s stomach. Levi dropped from his elbows and gripped Erwin’s hair with both if his hands and lifted his hips as if he could push himself deeper into Erwin.

Levi suddenly pulled himself from Erwin’s mouth, causing Erwin’s fingers to fall from him, and shoved Erwin down until he was laying beneath him; Levi threw his right leg over Erwin’s shoulder, sat on his chest, and shoved himself back into the wet mouth his had just abandoned to rut hard against Erwin’s tongue. Erwin was surprised by Levi’s show of desire and power but loved the feeling of Levi using his body for whatever he wanted. Erwin hummed around Levi’s cock and replaced his fingers to resume to powerful thrusting against the spot inside.

“Erwin…fuck, so close!” Levi put his arms behind him to brace against Erwin’s wide chest while still shoving himself deep into the hot cavern that sucked around him. Erwin let Levi fuck himself down onto his fingers and reached upward with his free fingers to flick at the man’s nipples, pulling and rolling them. “Ahh, yes!”

Erwin rubbed his tongue along the bottom of the cock to flick the frenulum tissue hard before moving on to press into the leaking slit to lap at the precum. Levi’s breath began to falter and his thrusts became more erratic as pleasure began to overtake his body, not being helped by the noise of him pushing to Erwin’s mouth, the feeling of the man’s tongue, or the groaning Erwin was giving out when he reached behind Levi to stroke himself. Levi sat up straight on the fingers and shoved himself down twice more before planting himself firmly, pressing against his spot, and pulling his cock from Erwin’s mouth. Erwin was about to protest when Levi started to jerked himself frantically, arched his back, and came straight onto his own chest.

“Er…win!” Levi’s delicious call caught in his throat for a just a moment while he stroked himself through his orgasm, causing a few dots of cum to fall down over Erwin’s cheeks. Levi saw this and his eyes rolled back in lust. “Mmm, you look disgusting…”

Levi dipped the cum up with his clean fingers and rubbed Erwin’s lips, groaning as the man lapped the cum hungrily. Erwin was absolutely speechless, finding Levi’s pleasured body so captivating that words were unable to form in his brain, much less his used mouth. Levi shifted slightly to move himself off of Erwin’s fingers and settle on his chest as he came down from his high. Erwin ran his hands up Levi’s sides with slow fingers to bring goosebumps up on his lover’s skin

“Can I lick you clean, _sir_?” Erwin purred as he let his tongue dart out to caress the cum covered hand and cock close to his mouth.

“No, you cannot.” Levi reached over to grab a towel and wipe himself as clean as possible. “You can, however, lay there and–”

Levi shot Erwin one of the most seductive looks possible, eyes lidded and pupils blown, before slinking his way down to the man’s waist and positioning himself above the large, dripping cock waiting for him. Levi hadn’t ridden Erwin before but it was certainly something he was willing to lay back and watch, to see the muscles of the man’s body twitch in the fire intrigued him. Levi unmounted Erwin’s legs for just a moment to turn and face the wall, only allowing Erwin the sight of his back, and then he reached back to pull his cheeks open wide.

“You can lay there and let me ride you, so you can watch yourself stretch me.” Levi peered back over his shoulder with a blush. Erwin couldn’t nod his head fast enough before he felt Levi grasp his cock to steady it and coat it in lube from the bottle laying neat the pile of blankets.

“Fuck, _Levi_.” Erwin had to fight not to close his eyes and throw his head back as the man slid down to bottom himself out with no resistance. Levi was tight, something that never changed no matter how much stretching they did, but it never ceased to suprise him how absolutely amazing Levi felt around his cock. Erwin reached up to grasp hold of Levi’s cheeks. “I’m sorry, please…”

Erwin’s grasp was rough, most likely bruising, but Levi mewled against the hold. Erwin pulled himself from Levi and quickly shoved back into him with incredible force, nearly bucking him from his seat, doing so until Levi was screaming for him.

“St-stop!”

“I need…cum, please, Levi…” Erwin could feel the pool of heat in his belly becoming so hard to resist already after watching Levi and listening to him.

“Let me ride you, let go!” Levi pushed Erwin’s shaky hands from him ass cheeks and straightened his back.

“Please…” Erwin breathed out, he was so mesmerized by the sight before him.

Levi had his legs tucked under Erwin’s thighs and was leaning forward to brace himself against his forearms on the floor, this caused his cheeks to spread and bare his back side to Erwin’s view. Erwin could clearly see his large cock stretching Levi’s hole, red and used, being swallowed by the smaller man’s body as he sunk down to bottom himself out again. Levi bounced on Erwin as fast as he could, looking over his shoulder to make sure Erwin was watching, and Erwin knew he wouldn’t last as long as he wanted to.

“Levi–” Erwin’s mouth watered as Levi clenched around his, watching the ring contract. “This so amazing…looks so amazing…”

Erwin was braced against his elbows to get this view of Levi as he raised and dropped on his cock at an agonizing pace, he could also see that Levi had started to tug on his own cock that was out of view. Erwin leaned on one elbow to reach up and run a hand down Levi’s spine and smiled when Levi arched into him.

“Erwin…so go-ahh!” Lev’s thrust faltered as he cried out and his hand dropped from his cock to catch himself from falling to the ground, Erwin knew he had found his nerves.

Erwin chose this opportunity to lean up and pull Levi’s legs out from under his own, wrapping his large arms under Levi’s thighs and pulling him into his chest as he leaned back against the blankets. It’s not that Erwin wanted Levi to stop his actions but now that Erwin could see Levi’s cock, red, full, and ready for release, he knew Levi was in the same boat as he was. Erwin kept Levi’s thighs draped over his forearms and grasped at the soft flesh beneath his fingers; Levi threw his arms above their heads to touch the pillows in desperate need for purchase.

“Erwin, let me…” Levi’s sentence stopped as eyes rolled back in his head and he moaned loudly at the new angle when Erwin gave a thrust for safe measure that Levi was comfortable. “Fuck, don’t stop!”

“I don’t plan to, love.” Erwin growled as he braced himself and widened Levi’s legs toward his chest.

Erwin used his grip on Levi’s thighs to pull the limp man from up off his cock and drop him back down as he thrusted up to meet both movements in the middle. Levi screamed in pleasure and gripped the pillows, arching his back to try and move on his own but he found his body to be useless. Erwin was aiming right for the bundle of nerves he knew the location of all too well and struck them on each thrust with a bruising pace.

“Cum for me, _Commander_.” Erwin purred and licked Levi’s left ear lobes, nibbling on the flesh. Levi gasped and let out a strangled moan when he wrapped his shaky hand around his own cock, sending a pang of heat straight to Erwin’s aching length. “ _Louder_.”

“Erwin…” Levi squeaked when he milked the pre-cum from his cock and ran his finger over the slit, he bucked up into his own hand but it did nothing to interrupt Erwin’s actions below him, it actually seemed to push him to go harder and faster.

“Fuck, Levi, ahh, you feel so amazing.” Erwin was so close it hurt but he certainly wasn’t going to cum before Levi, he wanted to feel Levi cum around him. “So _tight_ , baby. Fuck, I’m so close.”

Levi jerk himself furiously and craned his head around to lock their lips together, moaning and screaming into Erwin’s mouth as he was pounded into. Erwin slid one of his hands down Levi’s thigh and grabbed his balls to roll them in his palm before pushing Levi’s hand away to grasp him for himself, jerking Levi in time with his powerful thrusts. Levi’s arms dropped to his sides as if they were made of jelly.

“Erwin! Ahh, yes! Fuck, faster!” Levi’s back popped as he arched high into the air, nearly lifting his shoulders from Erwin’s chest, when Erwin jerked him mercilessly. “S-so full, Erwin!”

“C-cum with me, Levi!” Erwin couldn’t hold back any longer. He threw his head back and he slammed deep into Levi’ body, he just needed to feel Levi cum and he would be finished.

“Erwin!” Levi’s body went rigid and trembled violently, his voice skipped an octave higher as the cum shot from his body and coated Erwin’s hand, being milked him for all he was worth.

“Ah! Le-shit, fuck, Levi!” Levi clenched around Erwin’s cock, his grasp on the man’s thigh became hard enough to bruise and he lost control as his hips pummeled into Levi, cum spurted and filled Levi’s body, some of it following him out as he thrusted out the rest of his orgasm.

The men were empty, Erwin had only cum once but he could feel that it was more than he normally came at one time, this would lead to a bit of clean up but Erwin was always up for pampering Levi when they were finished. They both panted as they drifted down from their orgasmic highs, bodies numb and limbs tingling. Erwin, still buried deep inside Levi, slowly released the man’s legs to let them fall to their side as comfortably as possible. Sweat and cum coated Levi but that did not stop Erwin from caressing the beautiful body that lay atop his own, chuckling as he felt Levi’s muscles twitch under his light and tickling touch.

“You are never…” Levi swallowed to wet his mouth and ran a hand through his hair, reaching back to caress Erwin’s face. Levi swallowed a few more times as if was having trouble collecting himself and forming words. “You are…never allowed…to…to put me in a differ-rent position ev…ever again.”

“Mmm, did…did you like it?” Erwin chuckled softly and kissed Levi’s hand before moving to kiss his forehead.

“I…it…I can’t…” Levi breathed in heavily and ran his hands over as much of Erwin’s naked body as possible.

“Mmm.” Erwin nosed through Levi’s sweaty hair and breathed in his scent. “You got cum on my tie.”

“I did, like it?” Levi reached up to touch the tie and flipped over onto his belly, forgetting the cum that was now smeared between them. When he moved it also caused Erwin’s mostly soft cock to slip from his body, a large amount of cum following him. “Ugh, shit.”

“Bath?”

“I really don’t think I want to move.” Levi buried his face in Erwin’s neck now that he was properly straddling the bigger man’s torso.

“I know.” Erwin chuckled lightly and nudged Levi’s head. Levi brought his hands up to cup Erwin’s face and they shared a passionate, sloppy kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you to, Erwin.” Levi mewled and kissed him once more. “Carry me.”

“Yes, _Commander_.” Erwin put an arm around Levi and used his other to push them both from the floor.

Erwin started the hot water in the tub and lowered Levi to the floor so he could climb in while Erwin gathered a few towels. They submerged their bodies and Levi curled up in Erwin’s lap, loving the feeling being surrounded by his large arms. Erwin took a soap-coated cloth and gently scrubbed both of their upper bodies free of the sweat and cum before spending quite a bit of time wiping Levi’s lower region clean. After they were clean, the bath causing their level of exhaustion to heighten, Levi moved to the living room to put out the fire before joining Erwin in the bedroom.

“You look really nice in the tie, by the way.” Levi chuckled at the comment as he removed it to place on the nightstand next to his bed.

“Why, thank you.” Levi slipped under the blankets to feel the heat resonating from Erwin’s naked body. Levi turned to face him and smiled as Erwin began to caress his face.

“Beautiful.” Levi blushed and buried his face into Erwin’s chest.

“You are such a sap.” Levi rubbed up Erwin’s chest and wrapped his arms around his neck. Erwin started to wrap his arms around Levi but stopped when the man winced. “Ow…”

“Are you okay?” Erwin reached across to turn on the lamp next to the bed. Erwin pushed Levi onto his back and pulled the blankets back. “Oh, Levi….”

Levi’s mid-ribcage had a long bruise stretched across it, from side to side, Erwin couldn’t believe he missed it earlier. Levi’s eyes looked down at his own body when Erwin reached up to run his fingers across the delicate skin.

“I should have ripped his head from his shoulders.” Erwin kissed the bruise and looked up into Levi’s eyes.

“Erwin, it’s no big deal.” Levi reached over to turn the light off and pulled Erwin back to his previous position. “Sleep.”

Levi turned and pressed his back against Erwin to allow him to hug him close, humming as the man’s arms enveloped him and surrounded him in warmth. Erwin nosed into Levi’s neck, pushed one leg under Levi’s hip, another in between his legs, and kissed he bottom of Levi’s chin. Levi entangled their fingers and let his body go limp against Erwin’s hold.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, _Commander_.” Erwin chuckled at his title as it spilled from Levi’s lips for the second time that night.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re kidding, right?” Levi gawked at Kenny and spun on his heels from where he was brushing Heichou.

“No, I’m really not, we’re all going to go watch, everyone needs to learn this.” Kenny pushed his glasses up on his face to look down at the papers in his hands. “He thinks she is going to drop sometime today so we need to go ahead and get ready to ride out.”

“Oh, hey, sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting.” Erwin looked in on the pair.

“No, you’re fine. Kenny was actually telling me this awesome thing.” Levi put the brush back in the box and walked over to the door of the stall as Kenny moved to look Heichou over. “One of the King’s horse doctors thinks he’s found a way to keep the mares from dying like Mike’s mom did.”

“Really? That sounds awesome.” Erwin and the rest of the Corps were in the stables today to prepare for a mission they were about to leave for later that night.

“Yea, it’s great!” Levi looked around and pulled Erwin’s head into the stall by his bolo. He planted a firm kiss on the man’s lips, knowing he was going to miss this for the next few days. “He has a mare that has been showing the symptoms – there are apparently symptoms – and we get to go watch him save her life. It’s going to be the coolest thing ever. The whole staff is going.”

“Good thing Jean is here then.” Erwin chuckled at Levi’s grimace.

Erwin had been acting Commander now for about two months and in that time, he and Mike had made an advancement on Kirstein to make his boundaries very clear. He had been put on stable duty for the past week and it would extend until after the Corps returned from their mission, leaving Jean behind, and could possibly last longer. Erwin knew making an example on Kirstein might be a step in the incorrect direction but he addressed it like Kirstein was getting reprimanded for attacking a stable hand, not his lover.

“You have to admit; he has done a good job over the past week.” Erwin looked over his shoulder as Kirstein trudged to a stall across the way with a wheelbarrow to begin mucking out the stalls of the horses they were about to take. “We’ll let him go when we get back, I think he gets the idea.”

"I don’t think you should have done it to start with.” Erwin shrugged his shoulders and stepped aside when Kenny needed to be let out of the stall. “I’ll be out in a minute, Kenny.”

“How is she?”

Levi grimaced and turned away from Erwin to attend to Heichou again; the mare had been feeling bad lately and wasn’t acting herself. The mare had her head turned away from the open door toward the darkest part of the stall.

“I don’t know; she usually gets over it by the end of the day but you know she’s been this way since the day before yesterday. I didn’t know horses could get migraines but that seems like that is what is going on. It might just be because she is getting older.” Levi moved out of the way when Heichou kicked in his direction, gently. “I didn’t say you were old, calm down.”

“Hmm.” Erwin came into the stall and touched the mare’s rump, kissing her flank. “Maybe she’ll feel better tonight.”

“I hope so; I mean if she’s feeling better by the time I get home this afternoon then I will…” Levi looked over his shoulder to see the mare’s ear pricked in his direction. He then used a singy-songy voice. “Take her to the waterfall all day tomorrow.”

The mare huffed and tossed her head very slowly in appreciation of the suggestion, but did not turn to face them. Levi did another check to make sure the mare had enough hay, grain, and water. He dipped a cloth in the cool water and ran it over her body once more. The mare didn’t have a fever, Levi had already checked for that, but she didn’t want to do anything but stand in the stall.

“Excuse me, Levi.” Jean poked his head into the stall. “Commander, excuse me.”

“Yes?” Levi raised his eyebrows in the boy’s direction.

“Mr. Kenny and the others have already saddled up, I have your horse here.” Jean stepped back from the stall door when both men gave Heichou a pat and came from the stall, closing the bottom door. Heichou then turned around and stuck her head over the top of the door, her eyes closed, and pulled the top stall door closed with a slam.

“Thanks, Jean. Wait.” Levi gave him a small smile but called his attention when the boy went to run off.

“Yes?”

“When Heichou pulls the top door closed like that, please don’t mess with her. She hasn’t been feeling well. When you try to feed her later or you want to check her water, she will most likely try to bite you.” Jean’s eyes widened a bit but Levi waved the look away. “We shouldn’t be gone for more than a day, even if that long, so you may not need to refill anything before we get back. I have also given her a shot for her pain so she won’t be moody for most of the day anyway.”

]“Gotcha.” He held the horse still while Levi mounted and then Erwin dismissed him back to mucking the stalls.

]“Won’t the mare foal long like Mike’s mom did? Will you really be home that soon?” Erwin held the horse still as Levi adjusted the stirrups to his height.

“She is already in labor so by the time we get there she should be dropping, which is what we have been waiting for.” Levi surveyed his surroundings, finding most of the other soldiers to be out of sight. Levi lowered his voice and looked Erwin directly in the eyes, nudging the inside of Erwin’s left thigh as innocently as possible with his intent. “I may be home in time to _see you off_.”

“Mmm, I like the sound of that.” Erwin gripped Levi’s knee and smiled up at him.

“Levi, moving out!” Kenny called to him from the corner that faced the archway of the stable yard.

“Coming!” Levi pushed his horse forward. “Be safe, I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

~~~~~~~

“Well, that was a letdown.” Levi and Kenny had already sent all the other stable hands back when it was obvious the mare and her foal weren’t going to make it through the delivery.

When the group arrived at the King’s stable, they found that the mare was already down, the delivery looking to be in progress, but it was soon discovered that the foal was already dead and the mare was quickly moving her way in that direction as well. They tried to save the mare but her body had already become toxic from the dead foal and she wouldn’t survive through the night, if she made it to midafternoon it would be a miracle.

“It really was, that was going to be a priceless foal.” The horse doctor, Scott, was cleaning his hands. “I have someone coming down to document that I have to put her down but the King has all of his people in an important meeting right now and someone can’t be spared so I can put her out of her misery.”

“Fuckers.” Kenny said this is a hushed tone.

Levi stepped away as the pair continued to converse to grab their horses so they could start the journey back home. Levi would certainly make it home in time to spend time with Erwin and he hoped his lovely mare was feeling better. He quickly tacked the two horses and pulled them back to the front of the castle.

“Ready?” Levi handed Kenny the reins of his horse.

“Yea, we have a few things to finish up so the Corps can go off on their mission tonight.” Kenny urged the horses forward and they traveled down the path that would take them back down through town and to the travel boats.

“So, how is everything? I know I haven’t been around the stables a lot lately. How are you and Erwin doing?”

“Pretty good, _dad_.” They both laughed, Kenny wasn’t one that normally asked personal questions.

“Don’t patronize me, you know I care, fucktard.” Kenny was the only person Levi opened up to other than Erwin, Kenny had raised him and given him a home so he was a person Levi was most certainly comfortable with when it came to personal matters.

“I know you do, but no, we are doing fine. He’s great.”

“So, uh, does he treat you right?” Kenny wouldn’t look Levi in the eyes, something that peaked the man’s senses.

“Sure?” Kenny just nodded his head. “Wait, why? What are you scheming?”

Kenny just laughed and they spent most of the rest of the ride back to the boats without speaking. Kenny clipped a lead rope between their horses and allowed Levi to lead him to their destination; he pulled some notes from his bag after pushed a pair of glasses on his face to read and make notes with his pencil. The boats were only about forty-five minutes from the end of the King’s walkway and the boat ride from there was around an hour and a half.

Levi spent most of the ride thinking of Erwin, how happy they were, and how Erwin’s new position kept him closer to home sometimes; Erwin only went out on missions, for now, when it was extremely important. Until the end of the year when Erwin took over command, Levi would enjoy spending as much time with him as possible; Levi laughed and was sure he blushed when he thought of how much time they had to taste and touch each other, just to bask in the glow of each other before Erwin had to delve into more dangerous missions as he had before.

“Levi!” Levi shook his head when Kenny yelled at him.

“What, what is it?” Kenny was standing in the middle of the boat.

“Smoke.”

“Smoke?” Levi stood and shuffled next to Kenny to get a look at what the man was talking about. Levi could see that just over the horizon of the final wall they were approaching, out to the left, black smoke was billowing towards the sky. “Shit, did Johnson catch his smithery on fire again? I hope they have that shit contained.”

They dipped under the thick archway of the wall and came out the other side, now noticing that the smoke was actually coming from the right, in the exact direct of the stables. They looked at each other and back at the smoke.

“Johnson isn’t in that direction…” This ghosted out of Levi’s lips when he realized that there was only one thing in that general direction.

_The stables._

Kenny dashed into the small area where the horses were located and tugged them onto the deck of the boat, probably using more force than he realized. Levi’s heart began to beat heavily in his chest and a thousand things were running through his mind, but he tried to stay as level as possible. Kenny mounted his horse and Levi followed as thoughts of Erwin’s safety flashing in front of his eyes; just as the boat touched the dock and the plank was lowered they both pushed their horses into a run, yelling for people to move out of their way.

The closer they got to the stables the clearer Levi could see that Erwin and Mr. Lake were waiting just outside of the archway of the stable yard, it brought a smile to Levi’s lips but it dropped away when Erwin gave him a sullen look. Two of the stable hands that had returned earlier in the day came from the yard to pull the horses from their hands as they dismounted, but the men didn’t go into the yard.

“Kenny.” Mr. Lake nodded his head away from Erwin and the older man followed him.

“Levi…” Erwin reached up to take his elbow.

Levi didn’t see him, but was focused more on the smoke that rose from a charred area in the stable yard, the entire strip of stalls black. Levi couldn’t see the other end of the strip because it cut a corner through the yard but he imagined it looked the same.

“Erwin, what the fuck happened?” Levi felt Erwin’s large hands wrap around his upper arm.

“Fuck!” Kenny shouted and braced himself against the side of the office wall. He had his head pressed against the wall and one of his arms wrapped around his middle.

“Levi…” Erwin’s eyes were on the ground.

“Fuck, Erwin, how many horses did we lose?” Levi started to pull away from him but Erwin’s hold was strong. “Erwin?”

“Jean was smoking near the tack room. I saw him and told him to put it out, but I don’t…I don’t..I don’t know if he dropped it or flicked it into the room.” Levi reached up and grasped Erwin’s face in his hands to try and calm the man.

“Erwin!” The blues of Erwin’s eyes were wet. “How many?”

“One…”

“Oh fuck.” Levi doubled over in relief and let out a laugh, his arms slipped from Erwin’s hands to brace himself against his knees to breath. “You scared the fuck out of me. Erwin, why are you upset? One horse can be replaced; Jean I will kill because those stalls cost a fortune in lumber but–”

“Levi, there’s something you need to know before going around–” Erwin was interrupted when Hange called out to him.

“Erwin! Is he here yet? She can’t hold on much…” She stopped when she saw Levi standing behind Erwin’s large frame.

_‘She can’t hold on much’…longer…longer, was usually the next word._

“What?” Levi looked at the woman with a confused expression.

“Levi.” Erwin pulled him close but Levi could still see Hange.

“I’m sorry…” The woman covered her face and Levi watched as tears streamed over her face. “Please don’t hate me.”

_I’m sorry._

_Please don’t hate me._


	8. Smoking Kills

_I’m sorry._

_Please don’t hate me._

Those were the only words still registering in Levi’s mind as he gathered the strength to shove Erwin’s grasp from around his body. He could have sworn he heard Erwin call for him, may have even grabbed Levi’s shirt for just a moment, but it was only a wind against him as he darted around the corner of the burnt string of stalls. It was then that he realized this was the row that included Heichou’s stall that was connected directly to the tack room. Levi had to push past Hange to get here, brushing her shoulder, but the woman dropped to the ground as if he had struck her.

“Who the fuck smokes near a tack room that’s full of hay?” The words bellowed from Levi’s lips even though it was only meant to be a thought in his head. He could hear footsteps behind him, Erwin and the rest must be quick on his trail.

A group of soldiers were surrounding the missing end of the row, Levi seeing it to be about three stalls and a tack room short of what it was when he left this morning, blocking his view and keeping him from his true destination. Mike was around the back of the group and turned when he heard Levi scream out; Jean and Marco had been standing in front of Mike and when the man turned they locked eyes with Levi momentarily before stepped away. Jean was _white_ , different from his normal tanned complexion and Marco had an arm slung around the boy’s shoulders to lead him behind another row of stalls, murmuring to Jean before giving him a peck against the temple.

“Levi, I think you need to–”

“Where is she?” Levi’s eyes were full of hate and his question slithered between his teeth like the sound of a hungry animal. Mike froze, the larger man actually _froze_ , his eyes widening and his body giving an obvious tremble.

“Levi–” Mike raised his hands to try and calm Levi.

“Where?” Levi’s voice was one he didn’t even recognize, one of pure hatred. “Tell me where she is! What happened?”

Mike opened his mouth to speak but a quiet, strained neigh rang out before he could form any words and Levi heard gasps come from behind him. Erwin, Kenny, Hange, and Mr. Lake were standing behind him and the pained look on Erwin’s face confirmed the worst of Levi’s expectation. Levi put a hand against Mike’s chest and shoved him to the ground to clear his path to the group that blocked his way.

“Move…” Levi huffed through his teeth, fists clenched at his sides.

“Commander, are we–” Armin was sweating when he tried to speak to Erwin.

“Move!” The group of newer soldiers squealed and ran to the side as Levi screamed and stepped closer to them.

“Goddammit, guys! What part of keep her covered do you not understand?” Mike yelled at the group of scurrying people as he gathered himself to stand up and brush his uniform off. The soldiers turned from the direction they were running and pulled together a sloppy, scared salute and froze in terror, not knowing what to do.

Levi could hear Mike grilling them but it was like a low rumble in his ears as his eyes were finally able to float down to the scene of horror he would never be able to wash from his memory. Heichou was buried under the heavy boards and bricks that made up the stalls and the tack room next to her with only her chest, neck, head, and one front led uncovered. Most of her skin was riddled with deep pink-red patches where skin had been burnt away and blood oozed from cuts all along her body. It was evident that the team had attempted to unearth her but stopped, Levi couldn’t understand why they stopped, he never would have.

“Someone help me…” Levi breathed out and then dove toward the mare, feeling the fingers of a large hand brush his shoulder as he moved.

Levi kneeled down by Heichou’s head and reached over her back to the nearest plank that stretched across her body. Levi started to pull the plank and cried out, the sound more of a whimper, when he saw the skin being ripped from her sides in a slimy stretch; Heichou let out a strangled scream and wrenched her head back to grasp Levi’s forearm with her teeth. The mare’s eyes locked with his own and they just stared at each other, her head dropped back to the ground and released him.

“H-Heichou…” He looked across her body, not being able to draw himself away from her.

“Levi, she’s been holding on for you.” Erwin stood near him but spoke very softly. “She won’t let us anywhere near her. Hange has been trying to soothe her but every time we approach her she kicks out and tries to get up.”

“Pain medication.” Levi whispered and looked up at Erwin, but wasn’t actually looking at him, his eyes were glazed over and voice hoarse. “She’s in pain, please. I-in the tack room…”

“Levi.” Kenny walked up, knelt down, and put his hands on Levi’s shoulders. Levi turned his attention to Kenny, smiled, and let mumbles flow from him mouth.

“K-Kenny, pain medicine, we can give her medicine and pull her out.” Levi braced himself against Kenny’s arm and pulled himself up. Heichou’s eyes followed him and let a hoarse nicker from her mouth as he tried to walk away. “It’s okay, you’ll be okay.”

“Levi…” Erwin grabbed his elbow and turned him around. Levi was unable to meet his eyes but that was okay, Erwin couldn’t find the words he needed to comfort his lover.

_She’ll be fine. We can pull her out._

“Levi, the pain medication won’t do anything for her.” Kenny knew he had to be blunt for Levi to understand the only option they had left. “Levi?”

“Huh?” He shifted his eyes from the ground to meet Kenny’s as if he hadn’t heard anything he said.

_Pain medicine and she’ll be fine; I can pull a nineteen-hundred-pound horse out from under some wood. Who can’t do that?_ Levi smiled down at Heichou’s face and the mare wheezed at him with a pain stricken face

“Levi, we can’t pull her out. Pain medicine won’t put her out fast enough.” Kenny looked toward Mr. Lake and the man nodded in understanding, turning back around the corner to the office.

Levi was in a trance, not listening to anything Kenny or anyone else had to say. The whole world moved in a blur around him because all he was focused on was getting the mare out of the wood, some of which must still be very hot. A few minutes, though they felt like hours, later a hand suddenly struck Levi across the face, knocking him to the ground and pulling him back to Earth; Levi finally looked around at the others.

From this angle Levi could see Jean and Marco again, in the shade cast by the line of stalls to his left; Jean was sitting in the dirt with his head in his hands, his body shaking, and Marco was hugging him the best he could and trying to rub his back as comfortingly as possible. Hange had turned to hide her face against Mike’s chest and the man had one arm wrapped around her and the other just hung to his side. The group that had been hiding Heichou earlier were all huddled together and refused to meet his gaze; a few of them had turned away, some of them cried, and other’s just stared at the ground. There were other groups of soldiers and stable hands littering the yard also, ones that Levi hadn’t even noticed before.

_Why is everyone crying?_

“Someone get me a blanket.” Kenny stood from his kneeling position and walked over to Mr. Lake who handed him a musket.

“Kenny–” Levi scuttled to pull Heichou’s head into his lap. Kenny took the blanket from the arm of the stable hand that offered it to him and strolled over, checking the gun to be sure it was loaded.

“K-K-Kenny, n-now just wait!” Kenny snapped the gun shut. “Stop! We-we can sa-save her! Kenny, please!”

Levi crossed his legs under the mare’s neck and wrapped his arms around her, feeling the skin rip and blood leak though his pants and sleeves. The mare wheezed again as pain flooded through her body but she pressed back against his hold, knowing what was coming her way. Levi clamped his eyes shut and pressed kisses along the mare’s jaw, feeling the tears spring from his eyes and pepper her; Heichou breathed into his hair and lipped his face as if trying to comfort him in her final moments.

“Erwin,” Kenny sniffled and turned away for just a moment to try and conceal the tears that rolled from his eyes. “Erwin, grab him.”

Erwin lost all care for the fact that nearly his entire command was standing in the stable yard watching the scene unfold, he needed to console Levi and protect him and screw anyone who wanted to ridicule him for it. Erwin knelt down to gently wrap his hands around Levi’s shaking shoulders but the man just shoved him off with a shout.

“Levi, now, c’mon you know–” Kenny put all of his weight on one leg and leaned the gun between his elbow and his hip, rubbing across his face and hair with his free hand.

“Fuck you!” Levi lifted his head and shouted to Kenny, tears flowing freely from his red, puffy eyes. He openly sobbed and shook Erwin off once more when the man tried to grab him. “We can save her! We have to save her! Please! Please, please, just give her a chance, Kenny, please!”

“Levi!” Kenny yelled at him this time, moving to push his shoulder away from the horse with the butt of the musket and into Erwin’s arms. Skin peeled away from Heichou’s neck and the mare screamed, both in pain and because Levi was no longer wrapped around her. “Look at her! Her skin is peeling off! She will be in agony for months, who knows what other injuries she has!”

“Please!” Erwin stood up and tried to pull Levi into a standing position but he fought, all the while trying to squirm from the grasp. “Heichou!”

The mare squealed and screamed, she extended her neck as far as possible in an attempt to reconnect their bodies but Erwin had already picked Levi up from the ground and carried him a few feet away. Levi pushed against Erwin’s chest to try and get away again, but the hold around his arms was iron strong; Erwin wrapped his dark green cloak around them both and turned his back to Kenny just as he threw the blanket across the mare’s face.

“Heichou!” Erwin pressed a hand across the back of Levi’s head and hug him tightly. “Kenny! Kenny, please!”

“Levi, baby, stop…” Erwin whispered into Levi’s ear and nuzzled into his hair to kiss his temple. Heichou’s screams were only slightly muffled by the heavy blanket and Levi’s were muffled by Erwin’s chest.

The next instance happened in a blur, a flash.

_I’m sorry._

_Please don’t hate me._

Levi’s breath hitched in his throat when he heard the pin of the musket being pulled back to signal the chambering of a bullet. He suddenly dropped down to slip from Erwin’s grasp and scrambled through his legs to be only a foot away from Heichou, just in time to watch Kenny pull the trigger and send a bullet to shoot through the end of the barrel that had been pressed close to Heichou’s temple. Smoke exploded from the gun and Levi could have sworn he heard the bullet as it scraped along the inside of the barrel.

“Levi!” His name left Erwin’s lips in slow motion as he spun on his heels.

Heichou’s head bounced from the ground momentarily, moving the blanket slightly, and she let out a shriek once more. The sound of the shot still rang through Levi’s ears as a speck of blood landed on his right cheek; Levi drowning out the world with his sobs as he pulled the mare’s head against his chest, not caring as her blood flowed over his body.

“Goddamnit, Erwin!”

“I’m sorry! How was I supposed to know he would do that?”

Levi stroked the mare’s still face, not removing the blanket but as he slipped his hands under it as he could feel more than just blood seeping on him. He pulled the blanket back from her muzzle, disregarding the blood that poured from her nostrils and mouth to kiss as much clean skin as he could find.

“I love you! I’m sorry!” Erwin and Kenny skipped over to him, Kenny having dropped the musket to the ground, and tried to pull Levi away. He spat and kicked out as the men closed in on him. “Fuck all of you! Get away from me!”

“Levi, please…” Levi couldn’t see if but Erwin had tears in his eyes. “Please…”

Kenny touched the hands Levi had wrapped around the horse’s blanket covered face, gently prying his arms open to pull her skull from his clutch. Levi screamed and sobbed harshly when he felt the weight of her head leave his arms, his eyes opened enough to spot her and snatch her back into his arms. He started to rock back and forth, mumbling about how much he loved her and how much he was sorry.

_I love you._

_I’m sorry._

_Please don’t hate me._

“Baby, Levi, Levi, please…” Erwin’s voice was hoarse as he stepped behind Levi’s back and dropped to the ground to wrap his arms around the man’s blood covered body.

“She’s gone, Levi.” Kenny choked a bit as Levi shook his head and clutched her skull closer.

“No, Kenny, please. We can save her…she’s going to be alright.” Levi’s heart was gone, his body was numb, and no thoughts could be found in his brain.

“Okay, Levi, give her to me, I’ll see what I can do. Is that okay?” Kenny touched Levi’s face with his right hand and cradled the mare’s head with his left. Levi nodded hard and slowly began to release his hold on her, knowing that nothing could be done but finding comfort in Kenny’s late words. “There’s my boy.”

Erwin acted fast to sweep Levi into his arms as one would hold a sleeping child but he couldn’t bring himself to walk just yet, his own legs were numb and his sight was blurry through the tears that threatened to pour over his lids. Levi was absolutely limp in his arms, his head dropped back between his shoulders but tears and sobs still came from him. Erwin watched as Kenny wrapped the blanket tighter around the mare’s head and gently placed her back against the ground.

“Another blanket, please.” A stable hand rushed to get it. Kenny threw it to cover the rest of her body and the blood that covered the ground. He looked up and made eye contact with Levi, seeing that the boy had most of Heichou’s blood volume on his own body and a small amount had gotten on Erwin’s uniform. “I’m sorry, Levi.”

_I know you are._

_I love you._

_I’m sorry._

_Please don’t hate me._

Erwin took off his cloak and fastened it around Levi as best he could and repositioned him until his head was cradled in the crook of Erwin’s neck.  Erwin kissed Levi’s temple, finding it to really be the only clean spot he could reach and stood up with as much strength as could muster. Levi’s arms came up to wrap around Erwin’s neck and sobs poured into the man’s skin. Erwin hugged Levi tightly before looking up to address everyone under his command but found that no words would leave his mouth. Hange still hadn’t pulled herself from Mike but Mike met his look, nodding his head. Erwin turned away and began the short walk to Levi’s house, pushing his lips against Levi’s temple and kissing him repeatedly.

“Everyone, this has been a…troublesome event. Commander Erwin has a matter to attend to so we will postpone the mission until he has had time to finish his business. For now, put the horses in the pasture and let’s get this mess cleaned up.”

Erwin heard people slowly start to spring into action but he could give two shits about them right now.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erwin peeled the soiled clothes from Levi’s body and left them piled on top of the cloak to keep as much of the mess off the floor as he could. He started to run a hot bath and let Levi slump against the wall as he removed his own clothes.

“Levi, hey.” Erwin gently clutched the man’s chin in his hands and let them make eye contact. Levi’s eyes weren’t glazed over anymore but he still wasn’t looking _at_ Erwin, more like he was looking _through_ him. “We’re going to get in the bath in just a minute, okay?”

Erwin filled a bucket with some of the hot water and dipped a rag into it, he began to wipe the excess blood from Levi’s skin. After he was satisfied with Levi’s body, finding the water to be a deep red, he let himself lower them both into the soap filled tub; Levi slumped against his chest so Erwin had to support him. He had blood in his hair and Erwin lifted up handfuls of water to drip over him.

“Levi, I know you’re in shock right now, but I need you to close your eyes. Baby? C-can you do that for me?” Levi nodded his head very briefly before his eye fluttered shut. Erwin kissed his temple and rubbed his shoulder. “Good, thank you.”

Erwin rubbed shampoo into Levi’s hair and slowly twisted the man to dip his head back into the water to wash it out. Erwin scrubbed both of their bodies, being sure to clean as many of the crevasses in Levi’s skin that he had come to learn about and love so much. Erwin would leave no centimeter of skin unclean, he would not risk Levi finding dried blood on his body when he finally came to. By the time Erwin had finished cleaning Levi’s body, the water had started to get cold and the sun had fallen past the horizon. Levi slowly started to come back to him after he pulled both of their bodies from the water and began to dry them off.

“E-Erwin?” His voice was just barely audible.

“Yes, love?” Erwin pressed a kiss to his temple for the thousandth time that night.

“I’m cold.”

“I’m sorry. Do you want to go to bed?” Erwin ran a towel over Levi’s short hair before wrapping it around his shoulders. Levi nodded and looked him in the eyes, Erwin noticed that the light that usually shone behind the man’s pupils was gone, leaving his eyes dull and grey. “Okay, let’s go get warmed up.”

Erwin waited for a moment to see if Levi would get up on his own but when he made no inclination that he would Erwin scooped him up again and carried him to the bed. He pushed a shirt down over Levi’s body and pulled a pair of boxers up over his butt, Erwin also fished a pair of his own clothed from Levi’s drawers.  Erwin let them both sink on the bed and get cuddled up under the blankets, pulling Levi as close to his body as possible and kissing his forehead.

“I’m so sorry, Levi.” The statement scratched itself from Erwin’s throat. He didn’t reply and when Erwin looked down he found that Levi was staring into his chest. “Levi?”

“Are you going to go with us to the waterfall tomorrow?”

“W-what?” Erwin’s ears barely caught the breathy question. He pushed Levi’s chin up so their eyes could meet, finding that tears had already began to pour over his cheeks and down his neck.

“P-please…tell me y-y-you will go-go with us…with…with…with me…” Sobs violently wracked Levi’s body, making it seem like he was convulsing against Erwin’s chest. “She w-was si-sick…I shouldn’t hav-ve lef-ft her…”

“Oh, Levi, shh.” Erwin gently cradled Levi’s head against his chest and rocked him. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault. Shh.”

Erwin lost track of how long the man cried, Erwin even felt tears run down his own cheeks, but he didn’t know what to do so he just held him as tight as he could and rubbed his back. This wasn’t something Erwin had ever had to deal with other than his first mission after they got together and even then it was only a matter for both of them to calm down, but he still couldn’t imagine losing someone like Levi just had. Erwin was at a loss for words for the millionth time today, he let his eyes close and looked back on today thinking there must have been something he could have done.

**_“Kirstein!” The boy was startled and hid the cigarette behind his back, obviously still holding smoke in his lungs. “Put that shit out!”_ **

**_Kirstein nodded, the wrong answer; Erwin raised his eyebrows and stared him down. Kirstein sputtered and coughed, smoke coming from his lips as he doubled over to catch his breath._ **

**_“Try that again.” Erwin spoke out sternly._ **

**_“Y-yes, Commander, sir.”_ **

**_“Thank you. Now, put that shit out before you have another week’s worth of stable detail and get someone killed on our next mission because your ass hasn’t learned anything.” Erwin turned and walked toward another group of soldiers that he needed to address about packing the caravans._ **

He saw Kirstein flick the cigarette into the dirt, right? Of course he did, who would flick it into the room full of flammable material? He had to have put it out on his boot. He did put it out on his boot, right? Right?

Erwin didn’t see anything; he didn’t even look. How could he be so irresponsible? Erwin felt new tears, hot on his eye lids, but he wiped them away. Levi’s sobs had silenced but his body still wracked, Erwin maneuvered him until he was on his back and Levi was straddling his chest.  Erwin’s shirt was soaked with more than just tears, he was sure, but he could care less.

**_“I wonder what time the stable hands are going to get back. I have to be honest, I have no idea what to keep giving Kirstein to do, they usually do that.” Mike chuckled and ran his hand through his hair and across his scruff._ **

**_“I don’t know, maybe we can send him through the pastures with a bucket to collect manure for fertilizer, shit we can give him something. I’m Commander, not a genius, though, we’ll have to get creative, I guess.” They both laughed this time and looked out into the street from the archway._ **

**_“Excuse me, Commander?” Kirstein stood behind them and saluted as they turned to look at him. “All stalls are clean, sir, I usually–”_ **

**_There was a sudden crash, a few screams, and high pitched neighs before soldiers and horses went scrambling across the stable yard, some of the soldiers fighting to chase their horses down. White smoke rose from across the yard coming from behind another row of stalls._ **

**_“What the fuck?” Erwin and Mike said in unison as they took off running toward the corner with Kirstein on their trail._ **

**_“Erwin!” It was Hange, she ran up to the pair and met just before the corner, with sweat rolling down her face. “T-the tack room! It and a stall have collapsed!”_ **

**_“What?” Erwin’s eyes went wide. “W-which stall?”_ **

**_“The one next to it, it-it was closed and then all of a sudden there-there was kicking at the door and I went to open it and the entire thing fucking collapsed!”_ **

**_“Fuck!”_ **

**No, please! Please let her be thinking of the wrong one! _Erwin dashed around the corner to see a group of soldiers huddled around the missing area._**

**_“Move! Move, now!” Erwin slowed to a stop at the group._ **

**_“Erwin! What’s going on?” Hange pulled up next to him just as he dropped down to start moving some of the wreckage._ **

_**“No! No, please, please, no!” Jean dropped down beside him and they worked to move some of the boards and scorching** **hot bricks. “Fucking, shit, those are hot.”**_

**_“Erwin?” Hange gripped his shoulder. She looked back at Mike but the man just ran his hands through his hair and cursed at himself._ **

_There was kicking at the door_. Erwin let those words run through his head for a few minutes, his heart lurching as his brain stretched Hange’s sentence out in slow motion. Levi was still shuddering on his chest, but the sobs seemed to have stopped probably due to the fact that Levi had no more tears in his body to give.

“It’s okay, Levi. I’m right here. I’m sorry.” Erwin kissed his forehead and rubbed his hair.

“She’s gone…Erwin…she–” He hiccupped and gripped Erwin’s shirt tightly in his fists.

“I know. Shh. I know, it’s okay.” The tears and sobs started to fall once more, each one pulling Erwin’s heart more and more.

“Please don’t leave me…please…please don’t leave me…” Levi coughed up every word.

“I won’t, I won’t. I promise, Levi, I’m right here.” Erwin sat up a little bit to brace his shoulders against the wall and rocked him, peppering his forehead with gentle kisses. “I love you.”

“Heichou…please don’t leave me…” Erwin’s heart dropped, Levi wasn’t even listening to him. He wasn’t what Levi wanted right now, but he was all Levi had.

“I’m so sorry.” Erwin whispered to him and pressed their foreheads together. Levi reached up to tangle his hands through the blonde locks that spilled onto his face.

**_“This is H-Heichou’s stall.” Erwin huffed as he threw boards to the side with no regard. He needed to try to stay calm and collected but it wasn’t working._ **

**_It looked as if her stall had collapsed first and the tack room soon followed to fall on top of the rubble of her stall. The entire group of new soldiers moved toward them at that moment, many of them coming to fall in love with the giant mare. A creaking and splintering noise rang out from Erwin’s right side and he felt two pairs of hands pull him sideways._ **

**_“Fucking hell!” Mike yelled as he and Erwin tumbled sideways. The stall that would have been connected to Heichou’s collapsed over onto her pile, almost crushing Erwin in the process, and a third one just crunched inward._ **

**_“What in the hell is going on here?” A roar came from behind the group, it was Mr. Lake, he and the stable hands had returned. Was Levi with them?_ **

**_A soldier got to him before Erwin could and gave him a quick overview of the current situation. Erwin didn’t know what to do, if Levi came running around that corner right then he was sure he would break down._ **

**_“I leave my stables for one fucking day and you guys are, literally, burning it to the ground.” Everyone just started at him. “Well, what the hell are you all standing around for? Either go fetch water to calm the burning between the boards and the stones or help uncover the horse!”_ **

**_Everyone sprang into action to do as they were told, as if he were the Commander and not Erwin. Erwin, Jean, Hange, and Mike were the main ones trying to uncover Heichou after he figured Levi and Kenny were far behind the group; he set the other soldiers to grab water and put out the fire burning that they couldn’t see._ **

**_“Fuck, what if she is dead under here?” Jean started mumbling to himself. “Levi will think I did this on purpose. Please, fuck, let her be okay.”_ **

**_Erwin looked over at the soldier, finding them to both be on the same level at this point, worrying about Levi. Marco came up behind the teary eyed boy and put his hands on his shoulders, Marco tried to shake him of and pull a particularly heavy board out of the way at the same time, falling back to the ground when it slipped from his hands._ **

**_“Bott, get him away and help him control himself, please.” Erwin looked Marco in the eyes and spoke softly. “Kirstein?”_ **

**_“Fuck, c’mon!” Jean leaned up to take a brick in his hands. “Fuck!”_ **

**_“Jean.” Jean burnt his hand and dropped the brick before sitting back onto his boots. Marco took his hands in his own to look at them._ **

**_“Kirstein, go, I’ve got this.” Erwin nodded away from the pile._ **

**_“Yes, Commander.” Marco pulled Jean from the ground and led him to a bit of shade that a large tree was casting near the paddock._ **

Erwin had somehow slid back down into bed when he opened his eyes again and he found that Levi had fallen asleep. Had he also fallen asleep? He didn’t know but he was happy Levi was asleep. He found that his shirt was sticking to his chest, most likely covered in tears and snot with a bit of sweat. As gently as he could, Erwin turned sideways to ease Levi onto the mattress so he could get up.

“Erwin?” Levi’s voice was slurred from sleep but also drenched in worry. He gripped the hem of Erwin’s shirt.

“It’s okay, I’m just changing my shirt.”

“Please don’t leave.”

“I’m not, I’m right here.” Erwin gripped Levi’s hand to reassure him and kissed his knuckles before laying his hand on the bed. Levi recoiled his hands under the blankets as if he’d been bitten. Erwin gave him a small smile, pulled his shirt over his head, and wiped his chest off with a clean area on his shirt. Erwin didn’t care to put of another shirt and gentle put himself back into the bed to pull Levi back into his arms.

**_They pulled board after board from the pile, using splintered pieces to move bricks, and they finally started to make some progress when they found a bubble where bricks were stacked that held boards from the ground._ **

**_“Stop, stop!” Erwin threw his hands out. He reached up to softly slide a few boards from atop the stacked bricks. “Holy shit…”_ **

**_Heichou’s face was now visible, bricks had fallen around her head to keep boards from falling to her skin. Her eyes were closed, but her nostrils were fluttering faintly, showing that she was alive. Erwin reached for a board that touched the mare’s neck and pulled it, immediately ripped a chunk of skin from the mare’s neck._ **

**_“Goddamnit!” Erwin threw the board sideways just when the mare’s eyes flew open and she bellowed out a scream. “Don’t touch anything else. It’s pulling her skin off. Shit, now what do we do?”_ **

**_“If it isn’t touching her skin we can still remove it. I mean, if it’s only touching part of her skin let’s just rip it off, like a wrap.” Mike stepped forward to test a plank that seemed to be over what could have been the mare’s rump._ **

**_“No!” Hange stepped in front of them all. They had already uncovered most of the mare’s chest, neck, and head. “Stop, these…these bricks might have really done some damage.”_ **

**_“Well, of course they have, you idiot!” Mike gave her a stupid face._ **

**_“Shut the fuck up!” Hange kicked him in the chest. “If we keep pulling them off and part of her body is crushed, it’ll release the toxins and she’ll die. She could bleed to death, there is no way for me to know. Levi…”_ **

**_“Levi won’t make it in time if we keep taking things off of her. There has to be at least a hundred pounds of-of brick and board laying on her. Hange, stay here to look after her.” Erwin pulled himself from the ground and dusted off his uniform._ **

**_“Erwin, I don’t think I can–”_ **

**_“Hange, I have to meet him up front. I can’t let him get back here to see this.” Erwin gripped her shoulder and gave her a serious, yet thankful smile. “Keep her alive, Hange.”_ **

**_“Erwin, I can’t make any promises! Fuck, Mike!” The mare squealed as the scruffy man rubbed her neck and it peeled off a slew of skin in the process. Heichou began to kick out when Hange stepped toward her._ **

**_“Calm down.” She whispered to the mare, her breathes coming out ragged and heavy. “Okay, everyone, give her some space and don’t fucking touch her.”_ **

**_Erwin felt guilty for leaving the mare after that, and didn’t feel any better in the few minutes it took for Mr. Lake to join him at the archway so they could meet the returning pair together. The man looked at him and they both exchanged worried glances._ **

**_“I’ll tell Kenny, but I’m leaving Levi up to you.” Erwin nodded and covered his face with his hands. “You’ll need to prepare yourself.”_ **

**_An hour, it took Kenny and Levi an hour to get back, and in that time all Hange could tell Erwin was that she was holding on. The woman wasn’t a horse doctor, Erwin knew that, but he was still hoping to hear more. He was hoping for her to come up to him with a smile and say that she was up, walking around, but he knew it wouldn’t happen. Mike even came up to him a few times to see if Levi had made it, but each time Mike just clapped him on the back and waved his head before returning back to the group. He finally saw them coming down the way, in a rush at that, and saw scared looks on their faces._ **

**_“Shit…”_ **

“Shit…” Erwin whispered to himself. What was he going to do? How could he expect himself to command an entire group of people when he couldn’t save a horse? When he couldn’t save the love of his life from life changing agony.

“Erwin?” Levi stirred in his sleep and looked up to Erwin, tear marks were dried against his skin and his hair was rumpled.

“Hmm?” Erwin turned to face him and rubbed Levi’s jawbone with his thumb. Levi finally looked like he was coming around, his crying had stopped and his hiccups had a good interval between them.

“I love you.” He reached both his hands up to cup Erwin’s face and smiled at him, then tears streamed from his eyes again. “You…I love you. I can’t lose you, too. Please.”

“Levi,” Erwin pulled Levi’s hands together and kissed them. “I am right here. I’m not going anywhere, I promise. Look, look at me, Levi.”

Levi stared into his eyes, doubt and pain plastered across his face. Erwin knew what Levi was worried about and he was nowhere near wrong. Erwin could die the moment, he knew this, the moment he stepped foot past that wall he could be done. Levi could be alone tomorrow if Erwin had to leave and the thought of that made Erwin’s heart feel like it was going to explode.

“Erwin…” A sob started to wrack his body once more.

“No, no, Levi, no.” Erwin crushed him against his chest. “I am right here. I am not going _anywhere_. I will fight until my last breath to come home to you, I promise. You do not know how much you mean to me; I could never even come close to explaining it to you. You are my rock, you keep me safe. I love you so fucking much it hurts sometimes.”

“Erwin…” Levi pressed his nose deeper into Erwin’s chest, trying to make them one. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Levi.”

Levi cried after that, sobbed, and Erwin lost track of time as he just held the man close. Levi repeated Erwin’s name throughout the night, it was all he said, nothing more. What would he do? If Erwin had to leave tomorrow, what would Levi do? How would Erwin even leave him?

“I love you.”


	9. Letters of Love

Erwin walked the dirt path back to Levi’s home, it had been a week since Heichou’s death but work didn’t stop for him, Levi, however, had yet to leave his home since the incident. He had an armful of paperwork, mostly things he needed to fill out for the mission they didn’t take and when it was going to be rescheduled but he was determined to do them with Levi in his sights. Today had been Erwin’s first venture from the house, but Levi had reassured him he would be fine, Erwin was a bit weary to actually leave.

**_“Erwin, I’m fine.”_ **

The light still hadn’t returned to Levi’s eyes, Erwin wasn’t sure it ever would, but he was finally able to pull himself from the bed. Everyone had made their rounds to visit Levi, Jean had even come by to pay his respects. They brought food, most of which Levi never touched that had to be thrown out, but when they woke up this morning and Levi made himself breakfast, Erwin felt okay about having to leave him for a few hours.

**_“Please! Please forgive me!” Jean wasn’t crying but one could tell he was absolutely terrified. He kneeled to the floor just as soon as he saw Levi sitting in the living room before pulling himself up and sticking himself in the strictest salute Erwin had seen him make thus far._ **

**_“Jean, it was your fault.” The man shrunk, noticeably, into himself as Levi took a sip of his tea, holding the cup in the strange way that always made Erwin smile. He gave Jean a small smile before looking back into his beverage. Jean had been the first person he cared to look at, other than Erwin. “But, I know you didn’t do it on purpose. I do forgive you, Jean.”_ **

**_“T-thank you, sir!” Jean had a bewildered look on his face._ **

Erwin balanced all of the papers in his hands and turned the door knob, shouldering it open to avoid dropping the rest of his stuff. The house was warm and it smelled like cleaning products.

_Damn, if Levi’s cleaning he must feel a little better._

Erwin looked around the living room, finding a piece of paper laying on the floor, which he found quite a bit odd because it smelled like Levi had been cleaning for hours. Erwin walked forward to lay his papers on the kitchen table and took his jacket off, draping it across one of the chairs. A bowl was sitting near the sink, another odd finding for Erwin, and he also saw that there was a towel tossed across the counter.

“Levi?” He usually met Erwin at the door, or at least yelled his location when he heard the door open. “Levi?”

Erwin peeked down the hall but didn’t see him and he didn’t find him in the bedroom either.

“Get it off…” Erwin heard a muffled statement come from the bathroom. He stood outside the door for a moment to listen to the whimpering, scrubbing, and hissing coming from inside before he slowly pushed the door open.

“Fuck, Levi!” Levi had cleaning products spread out around him on the bathroom floor and was viciously scrubbing at his hands and arms, having already drawn blood from both limbs. The man was shirtless and his dark pants had new stains and splotches from the cleaning products.

“Erwin, I-I…it’s everywhere! Help me get it off, please!” Levi threw his arms into the air. “Her-her blood…it’s everywhere! Get it off me!”

“Levi, Levi, calm down.” Erwin dropped on the floor in front of him and gripped the damaged appendages in his hands as easily as he could. Levi was mumbling to himself and looking around at all the open products and scrubbing brushes like he was trying to pick the next one to use.

“Everywhere…can’t…”

“Levi!” Erwin raised his voice a little when the man pulled his arms free.

“Get it off! Get off me! Please!” Levi reached for a glass bottle full of clear liquid but Erwin grabbed him and pulled his attention away.

“Levi!” Erwin shook him this time, clutching his shoulder with one hand and his chin with another. “Levi, stop, there isn’t anything on you.”

“Bu-but, her b-blood it’s–”

“No, babe, Levi, look.” Erwin pulled a rag down from the ledge to his left. “Watch me. Are you watching?”

“Y-yes…Erwin I can’t get it off!” Levi started to panic again when Erwin swiped his arm with the towel.

“It’s not her blood, Levi. Look.” Erwin wiped the blood from a worn patch on Levi’s forearm. He then squeezed the arm a bit, pulling a whimper from the man’s throat, before wiping away the fresh blood that came to the surface. “Did you see? It-it’s your blood, Levi, not hers. Do you see?”

“I-it was t-there, Erwin.” Erwin then noticed Levi had tears rolling down his cheeks and shock in his eyes. “When…when I woke up…it was everywhere. My arms we-were red, Erwin.”

“Levi, these products could kill you, which ones have you used? Why do you not have labels on these? Fuck.” Erwin didn’t know what to do, he could feel himself start to panic. “Levi, please, how long have you been in here?”

“I fell asleep right after you left and I-I don’t know.”

Erwin pulled himself up from the ground to run and get a large first aid kit that Levi kept in his room. He had to clean the wounds before Levi got sick, did he make it in time? Erwin made it back to the bathroom in time to see Levi pick up a scrubber again and look at his left arm. Erwin came up and sat crisscross in front of the man, taking the scrubber from his hand, pulling him as close as possible and draping Levi’s legs across his thighs to rest his feet on the floor behind him.

“Levi, please. Now, this will probably hurt, I’m sorry.” Erwin pulled a bottle of alcohol from the box and sat it to his left before he gripped both of Levi’s wrists in one large hand, holding them firmly.

“Erwin…” Levi was whimpering already with his eyes squinted shut. “I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay, let’s just get you cleaned up, okay?” Levi nodded as Erwin put a thick towel in the space between them. He uncapped the alcohol bottle and gripped Levi’s wrists a little tighter as he poured the liquid over the cuts and scrapes that littered the arms in front of him.

“Goddamnit, Erwin!” Levi immediately tried to rip his arms away from Erwin and his legs squirmed, but Erwin held him tight and poured more liquid over the wounds.

“I’m sorry, there, that part is done.” Erwin gently laid Levi’s arms on the towel and used another clean rag to pat the arms dry before he lathered antibiotic ointment on them. Erwin pulled a large roll of gauze wrap from the box and covered Levi’s arms to protect him from getting any kind of infection. Levi had finally stopped squirming as Erwin taped the end of the roll down and inspected his work, this was the best he knew to do without leaving Levi to get Hange.

“I-I…I’m sorry…” Levi hung his head to cover his face with his bangs, wet from perspiration and tears. Erwin pulled Levi all the way into his lap and held him tightly to rub his back.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you, you weren’t ready yet.” Erwin kissed Levi on the cheek and ran his hands through the man’s hair.

“I was ready. I just, I had a dream about her and then woke up and h-her blood looked like it was everywhere. I just panicked.” Levi gently wrapped his arms around Erwin’s shoulders to grip onto the large man’s body. “I probably scared the shit out of you.”

“You really fucking did.” Then they were both chuckling a little and Erwin pulled him back to lay a kiss on his lips. “Fuck, never do that again, please.”

“Yea, no, that hurt way too much.” Erwin looked at Levi as if he was expecting a bit more of an explanation. “I just, I saw the blood in the bedroom and thought that I needed to clean it but when I came in here to grab the supplies…I thought my arms looked worse than the bedroom and as much as I tried to rinse it off, nothing would work and then I just broke down. I, honestly, don’t remember from the time I started scrubbing until just now.”

“I’m going to have Kenny come sit with you tomorrow, just to be safe.” Erwin pulled them both from the ground, turned on the water in the tub, and helped Levi out of his clothes.  

“Tomorrow?”

“Y-yea, I, uh, I have a meeting to go to tomorrow.” Erwin took this moment to run his hand down Levi’s naked body and pull him close by the small of his back. “But tonight, tonight I am all yours.”

“Mmm, I like the sound of that.” Levi pulled at Erwin’s straps and shirt to get to his chest, kissing between the man’s pecks. “Join me?”

“Hmm, should I?”

~~~~~~~

“Damn, how is he today?” Mike looked up from the paperwork he and Erwin were completing when Erwin had finished telling him about the night before.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Kenny is sitting with him today and is supposed to take him to see Hange later to make sure his arms are okay.” Erwin squeezed the bridge of his nose between his eyes and put his pencil down.

“Erwin, you know we only have one day left, right? We have been putting this mission, for you, but Eren and the others are ready. We cannot put this mission off any longer and, I’m sorry, but I refuse to lead it by myself. It’s your job; I understand Levi is important, you know he’s important to all of us, especially me because he keeps you in line.” Mike smirked and put his own pencil down to look at Erwin with as much seriousness as he could gather. “We speak freely when we are together, so you know I wasn’t trying to be rude.”

“Fuck, Mike, I know.” Erwin rested his head in the palms of his hands.

“Wait, you haven’t told him yet, have you?” Erwin shook his head and sighed. “So, what, was your plan to just, what, be gone?”

“Goddamnit, Mike!” Erwin dropped a fist onto the table. “He nearly scratched the skin off of his arms when I went to the office, what am I supposed to tell him? ‘Oh, hey, you know it’s just my job.’ He’s strong but he just lost everything and now we are getting ready to go on the most dangerous mission we could possibly go on. What happens if we get out there and Eren, Annie, and the others aren’t able to take down all the titans?”

“Erwin, don’t lay this shit on me. You _knew_ we were going to have to leave.” Mike was calm, it threw Erwin off. “You think I want to leave the people important to me? Do you think I want to take the people that have become my brothers and sisters out to fight just to watch them die?”

“No, Mike, fuck.” Erwin felt absolutely defeated, this position was not all he thought it would be. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, I don’t know what I am supposed to do.”

“Well, you’re the Commander, if you don’t know what to do then I don’t either.” Mike spoke softly to Erwin, seeing the man was very confused. “So, has it come in yet? Is that why you aren’t ready to leave yet?”

“I’m going to go pick it up today, it just got done this morning.” Erwin let a smile go across his face, if tonight was going to be the last night he would spend with Levi, he would make it count.

“Well, then it looks like you won’t be leaving him with nothing.” Mike picked his pencil back up to resume filling out the paperwork Erwin hadn’t finished the night before.

“You know you will have to force me to leave his house, right?” Erwin chuckled and started to finish his stack of paperwork.

“I’ve seen you naked before Erwin, I’m not afraid to pull you straight form the bed and force you to get dressed.” Erwin laughed loudly and got up to fix them both a drink. “I’ll be coming at the very last minute, so I would appreciate it if you were already ready to go. We won’t have much time to get out of the wall, plus I don’t want to give anybody any time to second guess their actions and abandon the mission.”

“I have faith they won’t, you should too.” Erwin passed Mike a glass of water and sat in his chair, he didn’t return to the paperwork but instead took to looking out the window.

“Do you really believe in the stuff Armin has been telling everyone about?” Mike pushed his chair to balance on the back legs and rested the heels of his boot on the top of the table. “What did he call it again, the large bodies of water?”

“Ocean, the books called it an ocean.” Erwin remembered the descriptions very clearly because it was all he could think about. “Can you imagine the creatures that must live in something like that?”

“I really can’t, and how about the fire water, didn’t he call that lava? What the fuck will that look like?” Mike took a sip of his water and crossed his ankles.

“I, honestly, can’t imagine fire water, that doesn’t make sense to me.” Erwin had a hard time imagining anything the blonde boy’s books had in them because he had never heard anything like that before but sometimes it was just fun trying.

“We won’t find anything if this mission isn’t successful.” Mike planted himself back onto the ground to pull the paperwork back to his attention, they needed to finish this tonight. “Do you really think they will be able to do it, Erwin? I’m asking you honestly.”

Erwin didn’t answer back immediately, how could he give his friend confidence when he didn’t fully have it in himself? Erwin was amazed when he discovered there was a titan shifter under his command, and then another was discovered, but Erwin was absolutely speechless when he found out there were four in total, how was that even possible?

“There are four of them, Mike, and Bertholt is bigger than the fucking wall. He can take out titans, he can step on twenty of them at a time. Eren goes nuts when he changes, Annie is ruthless and can crystalize her body, and Reiner is just massive; I honestly think we can do it, but I am more worried about the number of soldiers we will lose in the process.” Erwin stopped to look at the piles of soldier profiles he had to his left to think of how many he would have to register as “deceased” on their return home. “How am I supposed to look a family member in the face if their loved one gets caught in one of our own titans’ attacks?”

“And that is why that is your job, my friend.” Mike pushed his chair back and walked around the table to clap his hands on Erwin’s shoulders. “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go piss so I will be right back.”

“Hurry back so we can finish this shit, I have a date to get to.” Erwin heard Mike chuckle before closing the door behind him.

_I love you, Levi._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                Kenny was unable to show up exactly when Erwin needed to leave, and the man would have taken Levi into work with him if he wouldn’t have pushed the hunk of a man out of the door with his own injured arms, and he wasn’t alone very long before his second closest friend came through the door with a wooden chest in his clutch.

“What the fuck is that? Carrying around the family jewels for a living now, are we?” Levi had been folding some laundry when Kenny arrived.

“Haha, very funny. Put that down and come sit with me, this is actually for you.” Kenny placed the trunk on the table and took a seat.

“What are you going on about?” Levi dropped the shirt back down into the basket and padded over to the table. “My birthday isn’t close enough for you to be throwing gifts at me.”

“How are your arms?” Kenny had a serious tone in his voice, as if he hadn’t heard the joking tone in Levi’s.

“They’re fine, scratched pretty good and raw in some places but I’ll be fine. It was a lapse in mental judgment, it won’t happen again.” Levi felt his arms throb a little bit when talking about them. He knew he worried everyone that heard about it, not that Erwin had spouted it to anyone that wasn’t important, but he was sure he wouldn’t do it again, he had Erwin and that was all that mattered.

“Whatever you say, son.” Kenny motioned to the seat directly next to him and Levi sat down, giving him a funny look.

“What are you up to, old man?”

“Will you just shut up and let me give you this, please.” Kenny chuckled and unlocked the chest, handing Levi the key, before pulling the lid open to pull out a red satin blanket. “I know that there is nothing I can give you that would ever console you or change what happened to Heichou, nothing could ever come close to replacing her. Now, you may find this a little morbid, but I had a few things made for you that might help keep her close to you.”

“Kenny…”

“No, you don’t get to say anything until I am done.” Kenny pulled the golden, woven string from around the bundle of fabric and unrolled it, giving life to what was inside. “You know we had her cremated, but Johnson did a little bit more than just dispose of her for me. He used parts of her body to make a few things for you.”

Levi wouldn’t have been able to form words, even if Kenny hadn’t told him to keep quite. Kenny had always taken care of him, but he never could have asked the man to provide him with the gifts that were presented in front of him. Kenny was right, the present were a bit morbid, but he loved them all the same.

“The first thing they made was a dagger and it was made from part of her tail bone. The actual blade is part of one Erwin provided to them, he thought you might like that.” Kenny hesitated for just a moment before he handed the weapon to Levi.

Levi balanced the bone in his hands, feeling the weight of the material and blade embedded in it. It was her, he was touching his precious Heichou again and he could swear he could feel a heat beneath the bone, as if life was still in it. Kenny cleared his throat and Levi looked up to see him uncover another section of the satin blanket; Levi sheathed the dagger and put it on the table with care.  

“This was made by Johnson’s wife, I didn’t think of this is the beginning, in fact, it was her idea.” He handed Levi a medium sized fold of black pelt. “This was the only area of skin that was left untouched by the fire, it’s a pillow case and, if you ask me, it kind of–”

“It smells like her…” Levi quickly pressed the fur into his nose and breathed in deeply before mumbling the short statement. Kenny let his own sentence fade away and let Levi pet the skin for a few minutes as he folded the satin blanket and placed it back in the box, along with the dagger.

“Kenny, these are all–” Kenny raised his hand to cut Levi off.

“I’m not done yet, you impatient brat.” Kenny chuckled and pulled another small satin bag from the box, extending his hand and motioning for one of Levi’s. Levi folded the pillow case and placed it in his lap before putting his hand in Kenny’s. “This was something I requested to be made for you.”

Kenny tilted the bag until a cold, heart shaped locket and thick, silver chain landed in the palm of Levi’s hand with a jingle. Levi closed his hand around it and pulled it closer to his face so he could inspect it.

  1. Levi ran his finger over the engraving.



“It’s made of pure silver and the chain is too. The coolest thing about it though, it’s filled with her ashes, so you can wear it and always have her near your heart.” Kenny stood up and took the necklace from Levi’s palm, fastening it around his neck. “Johnson has been making these since I was a kid, in fact, they made one for me when my mother died and then another for my father, but I don’t wear them very often. I’m afraid they will get damaged, even with the expert craftsmanship Johnson has. It isn’t too heavy is it?”

Levi felt the cold presence if the charm against his chest but couldn’t find any words. Kenny had gone too far, how much money could he have spent on this necklace alone, not to mention the other gifts that were sitting in front of him.

“Kenny, these are too much, really they are.” Levi wanted to give the gifts back, but the thought of losing Heichou again made his heart hurt.

“Nonsense.” Kenny placed a small kiss on top of Levi’s head before returning to his seat. “I’d give up everything to bring her back, you know that. I’d do anything to make you as happy as you used to be, but this was all I _could_ do. I am having an ern made for her ashes, but it won’t be done for another few days, I will bring it to you when it is ready. ”

“Kenny, thank you so–” Levi was about to reach over to pull the man into a tight hug when his front door was shoved open.

“Yoohoo!” That singy-songy voice came from none other than Hange herself, dawning a medical bag around her shoulder. “Dr. Hange, at your service!”

Hange spent a few hours over at the house and Kenny eventually left after she assured the older man that Levi’s arms didn’t really pose a threat to his health. Hange spent time talking to him about his episode and even helped Levi to prepare dinner for him and Erwin.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Levi looked over his shoulder from the stew in front of him.

“Oh, no, I can’t. I have a few things I have to get done tonight, thank you, though.” Hange smiled at him a chewed on a piece of the break Levi had placed on the table. “Erwin should be back soon and I promised him I would leave you guys _alone_.”

“Mmm, thanks.” Levi chuckled just as the front door swung open, a well-groomed, civilian-dressed Erwin sauntering through. “Hey!”

“Oi, that’s my queue.” Hange pulled herself from her chair and waved a farewell to Levi before bounding over to Erwin. She clapped her hand on his shoulder before showing herself out.

“Well, don’t you look nice. Did you shower before you came here?” Levi turned back to face the stew before he felt himself being lifted from the ground. “Er– ”

Erwin turned Levi around and puled the lid of the stew from his hand, placed it on the pot, and turned the fire to the lowest temperature possible. He placed a soft kiss on Levi’s lips before turning them and sitting Levi on the table. Levi chuckled into Erwin lips and laced his arms around the neck of the larger man.

“Mmm, you smell really good. Not hungry?”

“Not for stew.” Erwin gripped Levi’s ass and pulled him into his chest to carry him to the bedroom.

Erwin latched their lips together, pushing his tongue into Levi’s mouth to fight for dominance between them. Levi moaned into Erwin’s mouth when they reached the bed, pulling at each other’s clothes and groping as much of each other’s body as they could reach. Erwin pulled Levi’s pants and boxers from his lower body and nearly ripped the smaller man’s shirt off, not caring as Levi popped a few buttons on his own shirt when he pulled it open. Levi used his legs to push Erwin’s pants from his hips and down to the floor, letting his large cock spring up to meet his stomach.

“Erwin…” Levi groaned loudly as Erwin dipped his head to take a studded nipple into his mouth. Erwin slurped at it, letting spit run down the side of Levi’s chest and let out his own moan when Levi pushed his hips up to grind their cocks together.

“Can I just say – mmm – you look really sexy cooking dinner for us.” Erwin moved his hands around to grip at Levi’s ass.

“I…I want to ride you again…please…” Levi huffed ragged breathes onto Erwin’s face.

“Mmm, so impatient. Ahh!” The nipple slipped from Erwin’s tongue when the larger man’s body seized up as Levi reached his hands down to roughly take Erwin’s large cock in both of his hands, already beginning to stroke him heavily. “So very impatient.”

Erwin gripped Levi’s hips and flipped the man onto his stomach, pulling the delicious hands from his own cock to let it bounce between his thighs, and pushed Levi’s knees up until he was opened wide. Erwin sat closely behind Levi and ran a teasing finger over the fluttering hole that was splayed out so beautifully in front of him.

“Mmm, looks so good.” Erwin nipped at each one of Levi’s cheeks, inching closer and closer to the hole before slicking his tongue with saliva and flattening it against him.

“Erwin!” Levi’s thighs trembled and he gripped the sheets below him, arching his back down toward the mattress to push himself back against Erwin’s touch.

Erwin situated his body onto the bed and gently fell back to lay down, pulling Levi’s body with him until the man’s face was lined up with his cock. Erwin kissed Levi’s hole, sucked on it, and pressed the tip of his tongue in to lap at Levi’s insides, causing Levi to brace his hands on Erwin’s thighs and throw his head back to scream out to him. Erwin moaned into Levi when he moved his hands up to wrap his fingers around Erwin’s cock and tug hard; Levi let his already slack jaw hang open when he lowered his chest down against Erwin’s stomach in order to slip the dripping cock into his mouth, saliva running down the shaft to drip past the man’s balls.

“Levi…” Erwin groaned as Levi slipped his legs under Erwin’s arms to open himself wider to let his own aching cock throb in Erwin’s face.

Erwin licked a thick stripe from the tip of Levi’s cock, gathering the beading precum, all the way up to his hole and sucked one of Levi’s balls into his mouth. Levi moaned loudly around Erwin’s thickness and thrusted into the open air where Erwin’s mouth had just been, prompting the larger man to adjust himself enough to suck Levi deep into his mouth.

“Yeth…yeth!” Levi screamed as best he could when his cock was enveloped by the delicious, wet heat that was Erwin’s mouth.

Erwin let his eyes roll back into his head when Levi braced himself on the bed and started to frantically thrust into his mouth, feeling the head of the smaller man’s cock bump against his throat. Erwin trailed a finger back up to Levi’s puckered hole, still wet from his tongue, and pushed the digit in to tease the spot that made his lover keen. Erwin hallowed his cheeks out to give Levi a few hard sucks, feeling the cock inside his mouth start to twitch and tremble.

“Cum for me, Levi.” Erwin inserted a second digit and assaulted the textured spot inside of Levi’s body, feeling the muscles clench and tighten around his finger as Levi pushed himself back to get more pleasure. Erwin reached his free hand down to tweak Levi’s nipples and the thumb of his probing hand to massage the man’s balls.

Levi fucked himself of Erwin’s fingers a few more times before the heat of his orgasm pooled in his belly and coursed through his veins; Levi’s mouth stopped around Erwin’s cock as slammed himself into Erwin’s throat once more before the cum spurted from his body to coat the walls of Erwin’s mouth. Levi let out a hoarse moan-scream as the last of his high shuttered through his body and he collapsed onto Erwin’s stomach, he craned his neck up to take Erwin in his mouth again as the man below him swallowed the last of his cum and he was removed from the mouth.

“L-Levi…” Erwin kept his fingers buried in Levi to lightly massage his spot and stretch him as he recovered.

Levi sucked enthusiastically, bobbing his head and massaging Erwin’s balls as he tried to bring Erwin to his first orgasm for the night, already ready for another himself. Erwin ran his free hand over Levi’s left thigh and down his back to rest on the back of Levi’s neck, finally gaining the leverage he needed to thrust up into Levi’s mouth. Levi let his hands drop from Erwin’s cock to reach inside the drawer of the bedside table, pulling out the mostly empty bottle of oil.

_I’ll certainly need to get us some more of this._

Levi moaned around Erwin as the larger man gave a particularly hard rub to his spot before completely removing his mouth and lathering the cock in the remainder of the slick oil, he reluctantly pulled away from Erwin’s fingers and positioned himself to straddle his lover.

“You are so beautiful…” Erwin sat up until he and Levi bumped chests, reaching around to spread Levi’s cheeks as he started to lower himself down onto Erwin’s thick cock. Levi easily bottomed out in one easy motion, causing both of them to let out a deep groan. Levi wrapped his bandaged arms around Erwin’s neck as the man’s thick arms wound themselves around his hips, Erwin maneuvered them until Levi was pressed up against the wall behind the bed.

Erwin pulled out almost completely before repeatedly thrusting back into Levi with a delicious amount of force, pulling Levi’s hips down to meet his motions and hitting the bundle of nerves dead on. Levi, though already hard again, was still sensitive on the inside from his earlier orgasm and Erwin being inside of him was so overwhelming all he could do was let his head lean on Erwin’s shoulder and moan his name.  Erwin was stretching him so much and rubbing in all the right places, Levi could already feel another hot pool gathering in his stomach but he would fight to hold it back.

“More…want more…” Levi pressed a hand against the wall behind him and pushed off, forcing Erwin back to laying on the bed with Levi bouncing on his lap, happily riding the larger man and squeezing around him.

“Ahh! Levi, you’re too…tight, relax a li-“ Levi leaned down to capture Erwin’s lips in a sloppy, passionate kiss. Levi was fighting so hard to keep his orgasm at bay but when Erwin reached back to grasp his ass and brace himself against the bed, he was done for. Erwin pounded into the smaller man, kissing him through his cries of pleasure and adding in a few of his own as Levi clenched around him for a final time and spilled between them, completely untouched. “Le-Levi!”

Erwin rolled them, pushing Levi on his side and pulling one his legs over his shoulder, straddling the other and thrusting wildly into Levi’s tight hole. Erwin quickly lost control of his movements, his thrusts shuttered and his grasp on Levi’s thigh tightened as he came hard into the hot cavern of Levi’s lower body, moaning loudly. Levi was gripping the blankets beneath him, breathing hard and letting out wrecked slurs of Erwin’s name, still mewling even after Erwin pulled out to collapse next to him.

“So good…” Levi’s lids already started to become heavy, the heavy weight of exhaustion from both of his orgasms finally hitting his body full force.

“You’ll never know ‘good,’ my love, not like I do.” Erwin pulled Levi into his chest. “Now, c’mon, no sleep until we’ve cleaned up, you’ll regret it in the morning.”

 

~~~~~~~

Levi didn’t know how long he slept, but when his eyes fluttered open the window next to him let him know it was still dark outside and he could feel the bed next to him was empty and _cold_. He rolled over to Erwin’s side of the bed, seeing that the blankets had been pulled up to make it look half-made and there was an envelope lying on the smoothed out pillow.

_What is th–_ Levi’s own thoughts stopped as he ran his left hand through his hair, feeling an abnormal, unusual weight on his hand. His eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness yet, so he shuffled to turn on the small lamp that was on the table beside his bed.

“What?” Levi’s breath left his body when he looked down at his hand, finding a black ring situated on the ring finger of his left hand. All he could do was stare at it for a moment, he couldn’t gather anything in his mind but he did feel a smile stretch across his face. “Erwin…”

Levi didn’t hear any movement in the house, but since the bed beside him was cold he didn’t really expect to hear anything. He then remembered the envelope and reached over to pull it from the pillow, feeling it to be very light and seeing his name written on the front of it in Erwin’s handwriting. He had a smile on his face as he cracked the envelope open and pulled out the piece of folded parchment paper.

                **_My Dearest Levi,_**

Levi smiled even wider when he read the first line, Erwin had never written him a love note before but he could certainly get used to this. He sat up, letting the blankets pool around him, and crossed his legs to get comfortable.

                **_I want to start off by telling you how much I love you and that the past few months with you have been the highlight of my life. I never knew I could be so happy until the first time I held you in my arms and felt the warmth of your body against my own. I love you, more than I could ever even begin to describe. Hopefully, by now, you have noticed the ring on your hand and I hope you like it._**

Levi looked down at the wonderful circle the covered a portion of area between his hand and first knuckle of his finger.  Erwin would never hear the end of how much of a wonderful present it was, and he hoped Erwin was ready for the answer he would give him.

                **_Levi, you would make me the happiest if you would be mine, forever. I want to wake up to you next to me and fall asleep every night with my arms wrapped around you, feeling you breathe. I want to pleasure you for the rest of our days and learn even more about your wonderful body than I already do. When I get back, please, do me the honor of becoming my husband and I promise, on my life, that I will do everything within my power to make you as happy as you make me._**

**“’When I get back,’ what?” Levi’s smile dropped from his face and he almost rushed through the rest of the letter.**

**_I will most likely be gone when you wake up, I hope I’m gone because I’m afraid that I won’t be able to leave if you are already awake. We’re going beyond the wall, on a mission that will be the hardest the Survey Corps has even been on, one that we were prepared to leave on last week, but it got put off. Annie and the other titan-shifters are going to take down the titans that live beyond the wall and get us to the ocean, and I cannot wait to take you there._**

“Erwin…” Levi felt himself choke as the tears threatened to pour over his eyelids, he wiped them away so he could read clearly.

                **_I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about the mission before now, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to pull myself away from you if I told you about it before now. Levi, I can’t tell you how much it hurts to write this to you, knowing I am leaving you behind with no answers to any of the questions you may have._**

**_I can’t tell you how scared I am to leave you tonight, to know that there is a chance that I will never see your beautiful, loving face again and never feel your skin beneath my fingers. I am so scared that the last thing I will see before my life ends is going to be something other than you._ **

Levi wiped away more tears, hiccups rolling through his chest when he saw the long-dried tear drops spread across the page that had smeared some of the ink when it had been freshly written. In his hands he held, what could be, the last words Erwin could give him.

                **_But, what scares me more than anything, is that I will return home and you won’t be there to greet me because I made you regret the last few months of your life by leaving you without saying goodbye. I’m sitting in the hall across from your room, watching you sleep while I write this and Mike is waiting for me outside, threatening to pull me out because of how bad I want to wake you up and hold you once more. Please, please don’t hate me, I can’t handle losing you, Levi, please. You are the only thing that keeps me going when I am outside the wall, you have saved my life more times that I can count._**

**_I can’t begin to convey how much I am going to miss you, and I am sorry that I cannot give an estimated time that I will return home, but I will fight the hardest I have ever fought to get home to you as soon as I can._ **

**_I love you, Levi Ackerman, and I cannot wait to come home to you and hold you in my arms again. Please, please take care of yourself while I am gone and know that there isn’t a second that goes by that I will not think of you._ **

_**I love you so much.**_

**_I love you._ **

**_Erwin Smith._ **


	10. Beautiful

After months of being on the road, Levi could finally smell the salt in the air as he and the caravan were finally approaching the newly built city and he couldn’t be any more prepared to see it, along with the friends he hadn’t seen in years.

“C’mon, can’t we move any faster.” Marco had been bouncing in his saddle for the last hour or so. Levi looked over at the scared, bandaged man and knew he was just as antsy. Marco hadn’t seen any of his friends and fellow comrades since his injury right after the mission started that had sent him right back to the outer wall. This also meant that Marco hadn’t seen Jean since they brought back the unconscious boy, and that had been over four years ago.

“You are lucky to even be alive, you can wait another few hours.” Levi could all so suddenly remember the day when they rode back through the town at dusk, pulling Hange with them to save the boy who was missing almost half of the right front of his face, part of his right shoulder, and his right arms from the elbow down; that was also the last time that Levi saw Hange, or anybody from the Survey Corps for that matter, until everyone once and a while some he didn’t recognize came to retrieve fresh horses like they were going out of style.

**" _Hange…” Levi ran through the streets to follow the military caravan back to the barracks._**

**_"L-Levi, I’m sorry. I don’t have time to talk right now.” Hange had disappeared into the medical ward before he could ask her any questions and she left right after Marco was stabilized, pulling a crying Jean away with her in the night to only flash Levi a worried, apologetic smile._ **

**_“Watch over him for me, please!” Jean cried out as they rode past._ **

“Dammit, Levi, I don’t want to wait any longer. Jean, and all his glory, is right–” Marco suddenly stopped himself and dropped his eye from where it had previously been connected with Levi’s pair. “I’m sorry.”

“Piss of with the apology, how many times do I have to tell you that I am okay?” Levi forced a smile onto his face, knowing the man beside him, who had quickly become his best friend, didn’t mean to hurt his feelings.

Marco’s pulled his mare close to the white stallion Levi was riding and let the reins fall from his only good hand to extend the limb in Levi’s direction; Levi looked over sheepishly and took the uninjured hand in his own clutch, giving it a reassuring squeeze before letting the joined area fall limp in between them. Levi had been the only person there when Marco woke up in the town hospital a week after his unannounced arrival, and the boy had stuck to him like glue since then, they were all each other had at that point.

Levi and the caravan found the trees to be so inviting, the titan-less furrows now only full of wild, unknown creatures and plants they had never dreamed of before, most of which would be available for their picking in the new city. Although sight-seeing was all they could do over the next few hours, it helped the time pass a little quicker until the buildings of the new city came into view. Levi could already see a town sign that represented the newly built city; there were buildings, as far as the eye could see, and once they past a particularly dense part of forest, Levi could see rolling plains of crops and plants he didn’t recognize.

“Jean…” Levi felt Marco’s hand fall from his clutch, where it had spent the last few hours, before looking over to see the man grasp at the middle of his chest. Levi looked forward over the flat quarter-mile worth of plain to see a boy with pale-brown hair holding a tall, fidgeting Jean in his place.

“Almost there, Marco.” Levi drew his stallion and Marco’s mare over to the side to let the long caravan go through the gate before them. When the last of the carriages passed Levi the pair followed close behind to reach the men waiting for them.

“M-Marco! Marco!” Jean ran forward as soon as the pair was in hearing distance and nearly ripped the slightly smaller man from the saddle of his mount. Jean wrapped his arms around Marco and peppered the freckled cheek in kisses as tears rolled from their eyes.

“Damn, where’s my welcoming party?” Levi slipped from his own saddle when as the stable hand, one he hadn’t seen in over a year, came forward to retrieve both of the abandoned horses. “The stables set up nicely?”

“Yes, Mr. Ackerman, and the office is set up for you as well. Everything is ready for you.” The stable hand placed a key in Levi’s open hand and looked him in the eyes with as straight a face as he could muster before the both of them chuckled.

“Thank you, Farlan. It’s nice to see you again.” Levi ruffled the man’s pale-brown hair and gave him a long, belated hug after pushing the key into the pocket of his pants. “And drop the Mr. Ackerman shit, please, how long have we known each other?”

“Too long, Levi.” He pulled the horses forward and led them down the slightly busy street ahead to the stables within view.

“Well, I’ll be goddamned, Jean, are you going molest the boy right here or let me sell tickets first?” That was a voice Levi had been waiting to hear since he set out.

Hange and Nile came sailing into view and landed a few feet from where the pair was kissing passionately. Nile chuckled when the boys parted with a blush at Hange’s words as the woman walked past to stand in front of Levi.

“Levi…” Hange pulled him into her body with bone crushing force and buried her face in his slightly shaggy hair. “You need a haircut.”

“Thanks, shitty-glasses.” Levi wrapped his arms around her thin waist and held her close, this being their first time hugging since before the group had left. Nile came forward to clap a hand on the woman’s shoulder to pull her back.

“Hey, Nile.” Levi felt his bottom lip quiver for just moment when the man pulled him into a hug he hadn’t felt in a year, but this time tears didn’t fall down their cheeks. Nile’s arms were just as heavy as Levi’s remembered them being the last time the man held him, and it was something that felt oddly comforting enough not to slip out of.

“Oi, Kirstein, I thought you were going to wait by the stable.”

“I’m sorry, Hange, they were just too far away.” The man’s voice was muffled in what could only have been Marco’s hair.

“Five yards, it’s literally five yards down the road.” She sounded like she could have her hands on her hips.

“That’s a year per fucking yard, Hange!” Marco laughed then when his lover yelled out with passion.

“Oi, you shut the fuck up! Now, please, escort him to your home and molest him there, not in the middle of the street, please. Just be sure to have him back at the stables soon.” Levi didn’t pull away from Nile’s shoulder, where his face had been, until he couldn’t hear Jean and Marco’s footsteps anymore. Nile pulled him back and it was then that he could see Hange standing right next to them with a red bag in her hands. Levi took the bag and pried it open, letting a silver key fall into the palm of his hands. “Ready to see it?”

“More than ready.” Levi tucked the second key and its bag into his pocket and let the pair lead him through the crowded streets, down some dirt road that led quite a way from town until he could hear the sound of water, but then an odd sound followed.

Levi was then face-to-face with what Nile introduced to him as the beach, where he could see long, tall waves of water crashing onto the pale colored sand to create the strange, yet inviting noise that filled his ears. The water reached for as far as Levi could see and the smell of the salty air pushed through his nostrils when a particularly hard breeze came from the middle of the ocean. The sun was still over a half-day from setting, but the look of the sparkling water only left Levi to imagine what it would look like with the orange glow of dusk settling over it. Levi spun on his heels, hesitant to take his eyes from the water, to look at the designation he had walked an extra hour for.

“Welcome home, Levi.” Nile and Hange warmly said in unison.

Behind the trio stood a home, perfectly nestled on a grassy plain the extended well for a few miles before the town buildings poked over the rolling horizon. It was a secluded area with a large barn and plenty of pasture land, in it Levi spotted a chestnut stallion, a blaze stretched across his face, grazing happily on the ground. The horse’s left side was facing Levi, but as he turned to bare his right Levi could see a long, ugly scar that stretched from his chest to his flank; this was the reason the stallion wasn’t in the barn, he had been taken out of commission after his near fatal experience on the battle ground.

“What do you think?” Hange motioned toward the home itself, knowing Levi had longed to see the horse more than almost anything.

The house was small and quaint, but all the while it was as spectacular as Levi had been expecting. Nile had mentioned it’s intended beauty at their last meeting, but he underestimated it. The house was a wooden cabin, a grey-brown Levi had never seen before, and it sat atop a layer of white cobblestone foundation. It had a cobblestone door that was framed with skinny glass windows, just wide enough to see out of, and had two windows a few yards away from the front door itself on either side, signaling to Levi that it had at least two rooms in it, but around each side of the home he could see one more window, four rooms maybe, and a large, red chimney was built up the left side. The roof extended well over each side to encompass the poles of the wrap around porch, the front of which had two stairs that led to a dirt path that branched off towards town and to the beach about twenty yards away. The pasture wasn’t connected to the home but its gate was within walking distance from the front door and Levi could see another gate around the back of the home, imagining there to be a door back there also. It was breathtaking, and even more so when Levi remembered that it had been specially built for him, well, _started_ especially with him in mind.

“Is he here?” Levi felt the question float from his mouth when he looked at the pair that surrounded him.

“By the big tree in the pasture, we thought that would be a respectable place.” Hange extended her hand to Levi and he gladly took it so they could lead him to the area he longed to reach.

“Hey, Mike.” Levi gave the stallion a soft kiss on the muzzle as they passed through the pasture, allowing the animal to graze in peace. The stallion, however, gave a light-hearted nicker and followed closely behind them until a grave stone came in sight. Levi let his eyes ghost over the engraving in the thick stone before touching the top of it.

 “He almost made it.” Levi whispered and felt his heart twinge with a strike of pain. “Almost.”

“Oh, um, Johnson finally finished this for you. He said to extend his most gracious apologies he couldn’t have it delivered back to the outer wall.” Nile gently, and with the utmost care, pulled a red satin bad from the inside pocket of his unicorn-adorned jacket. Levi ran a finger over the ring that graced his left hand while he cradled the heavy bag before putting it in the pocket of his pants next to the key Farlan had given him and the one that went to his home, that would be something he opened in private.

“I’ll go visit him later, to extend my thanks.” Levi wiped a tear from his eyelid that threatened to spill over as Nile placed a hand on his head and pulled it forward to place a gently kiss upon. Hange gripped his hand even tighter when she felt him shake a little as a hard gush of cold, December air rolled off of the ocean.

“Here, why don’t we go get something to eat, I know it’s been a long travel for you. Plus, we need to get you measured so the tailor can get to cracking on your suit.” Nile turned when two more horses came into view over the hill near them to join Mike and follow them all to the stable to get tacked, of course, Levi just hopped onto Mike’s back with no need for tack.

The restaurant Hange chose was only a few blocks from the stables where Levi would go just as soon as they were finished, as if being with the tailor hadn’t lasted long enough, because he knew there were still plenty of things he needed to set up in the office before his long day tomorrow. Hange had even managed to squeeze in a haircut to bring back his glorious undercut and bangs that had been long forgotten over the past few months of preparation for travel.

“That suit really did look wonderful on you, she said she will have it done by tonight so I will bring it by just as soon as she gives me word that it’s ready.” Levi took a sip of his tea and gave Nile a thankful smile. “You know, I could stay tonight, I don’t know what time they are expected back and I really don’t want you spending the entire night by yourself.”

“Nile, I have spent the past five years of my life sleeping alone, aside from the nights Marco couldn’t stand to be alone in the living room and, even then, it still wasn’t the same.” Levi poured himself another cup and mixed in a small spoon of honey that all set near him on the table. “I’ll be okay for one more night.”

“You know you are more than welcome to come stay with me also.” Hange gripped his hand from across the table.

“Yea, I know.” Levi downed the cup before straightening his jacket and pulling it tighter around his body. “Now, I have to go get Marco settled in at the office and I know you guys have a mission to get back to, gotta keep the peace, right?”

With that they all stood and exchanged hugs, Levi getting one more kiss on the head from Nile before they all left the restaurant and parted ways and Levi watched as their gear carried them both off in different directions. Levi shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants, letting one hand grasp the red bag and two keys as he walked the short distance to the new stables. As the stables came into view Levi took a moment to appreciate all the hard work that had gone into what would be _his_ new place of business.

As he strolled forward through the yard, Levi took a moment to enjoy the fact that every stall was made of brick, making it impossible for them to lose another horse in the same fashion he had so many years ago, and each one of them was spacious enough to accommodate a birthing mare and her foal when the need arose. The paddocks that extended for miles were full of bright grass and a large lake was visible from the yard, which brought Levi a great sense of pride that he was able to call his own. The stable yard had been extended more than what he was used to meaning they could house more horses and keep a healthier number to their herd for the civilian residents of town. Levi even had it in his mind to open a riding school, one where he could teach many forms of riding and even host competitions as a form of entertainment for their newly found freedom.

“So, what did you want to call me back here for?” Marco stood in the doorway of the office that Levi had finally made it to. Waiting for an answer he scratched at the scared side of his face, having abandoned the bandages from the trip to only wear an eye patch over his right eye socket, leaving the rest of his injury in view, one which the town had become accustom to seeing.

“You’ll see.” He waved the freckled man in and motioned for him to sit in the open chair across from where Levi was seated at the desk. “I want you to keep running the stables for me, so there is some paperwork that has to be signed to recognize that you are going to be doing most of the day-to-day operations while I’m busy with the classes and what-have-you.”

“Ahh.” Marco closed the heavy door and took a seat, taking the paperwork in hand and started to fill it out, letting a silence fall over the room, but one that invited enough privacy for Levi to be comfortable. Levi went in between watching Marco and looking around at the new office to take in the placement of everything.

Levi dipped a hand into his pocket to pull out the red bag he hadn’t ventured to open yet and place it on the desk so he could reach around his neck and remove the silver chain from his body, bringing forth the five-year-old piece of jewelry he hadn’t dared to ever remove, that he put on the day after the group left. Levi leaned forward to put his elbows on the desk and let his bangs fall over his face as he felt the weight of his old friend in his hands. Marco had since looked up from the contracts and forms to watch Levi’s moment of reverence, smiling slightly before his eyes landed on the bag that was only inches from his reach.

“It really has been a long time, hasn’t it?” Marco set his previous distraction aside to lean forward with his elbows against his knees.

“It really has.” Levi whispered before he placed a gently kiss on the silver locket and let it down over the top of the desk. “But at least she isn’t alone anymore.”

Marco watched as Levi pulled the strings of the bag open and gently turned it upside down to the let its contents drop into his palm, a smile stretching across his face as the black locket brought with it a familiar and cold, heavy weight. Levi felt tears prick in his eyes, everything about this locket was perfect, made exactly in the vision he has described to Johnson before they moved the smithery to the new city right after Nile’s visit.

“The diamond was a nice touch.” Marco’s words brought Levi to run his fingers over the stone before tracing the pad of his thumb over the engraving to its left.

“Did you get the ern made for the rest?”

“They didn’t bring much back to begin with, Marco.” Levi looked up to meet Marco’s eye and let out a deep sign he didn’t know he had been holding back. Marco gave a tilt of his head just before Levi’s eyes dropped back down to the locket as he rolled it between his fingers and took in as much of it, and the night behind it that he could remember, as possible.

**_Marco was resting on the couch, pulled close to the fire as the heavy winds of Winter rolled outside and cooled the house down to a discernible chill; Levi was in the kitchen preparing dinner for them. This had been part of their day-to-day ritual since Marco had been released from the hospital after his injury, Marco falling in to help him around the stables and keeping him company at home. It had been a decision Levi made without thought, and one he had come to not regret for a moment. They kept each other going every day, quickly becoming each other’s best friend, especially since they had no other half to share their days with._ **

**_"This has been the worst one, hands down.” Marco called from the living room when he heard Levi’s teeth chattering from the lack of heat in the kitchen. They had never seen winds like this until the Survey Corps left the wall three years ago, Levi couldn’t find that to be a coincidence._ **

**_"Shit, I though last years was pretty bad, too. We only have a few more weeks though, maybe two months at the most.” Levi brought them each a large bowl of steaming vegetable soup and a cup of hot tea. “Fuck, that heat is amazing.”_ **

**_They had barely had a chance to eat any of the soup before a pounding came across Levi’s front door and a half-drowned out voice called out his name between knocks. Levi and Marco both exchanged a strange glance before he threw back his portion of their heavy blanket to scuttle across the cold floor and unlock the door, another pound striking against it as he pulled it open._ **

**_"Le–” Nile stopped, mid-call, when Levi pulled the door all the way open, bringing with it many wafts of cold air and making the fire rustle a bit. Levi gripped the man’s black cloak and pulled him through the door so he could shut it before the fire went out._ **

**_"For fuck’s sake, Dok, it’s like eleven o’clock, and it has to be below freezing out there. I’m surprised it’s not snowing, why are you here?” Levi pushed him toward the fire place, visibly seeing the man shiver through his thick layers._ **

**_"Levi!” Nile gripped his arms just as he went to pull the man’s heavy coat off, giving him a rough shake to cancel out any thoughts that could rise in the man’s throat._ **

**_"Ch-Chief Nile?” Marco pushed his end of the blanket back and walked forward to come behind Levi in case Nile had lost his mind due to the temperature._ **

**_Levi and Marco suddenly gripped him as the man fell down against the carpet in front of the fire to let it illuminate his face, it was then that the two of them could see that Nile had tear stains on his face that had been long dried by the wind._ **

**_"Fuck, is Marie okay? Is she sick, can I do anything?” Levi didn’t know what to say when Nile’s eyes met his own and he started to choke out his next statement._ **

**_"He-he saved so many people.”_ **

**_"What?” Levi’s brain wasn’t making any connections but Marco reached up to cup a hand over his own mouth before turning away to face the wall._ **

**_"Fuck!” Marco hissed and when Levi turned to look at him, Nile pulled him into a tight hug bringing the whole world to crash down onto Levi’s heart all at once._ **

Levi laced the locket onto the necklace and fastened it back around his neck, humming a bit as its weight pressed into his chest. Marco took a few more moments to fill out the paper work before handing it over for Levi to examine and set aside to be delivered to the Town Hall before he made his way home that evening. They both sat there for a few more moments before a soft knock came across the door to the office. Jean let himself in after Levi gave him permission, eyes immediately setting on Marco as if he didn’t know where his lover had gone before he walked in to slide a hand through the man’s hair.

“What am I, goddamned horse manure?” Levi stood and strode over to the pair when Jean laughed, looked at him, and extended his arms out to the much shorter man. “It’s been too long my friend.”

“Indeed.” Jean embraced Levi with a hold that could only express a small amount of appreciation and love he held inside his body. “I can’t tell you how thankful I am that you looked over Marco for me, it was more than I could have ever asked for.”

“Don’t even mention it, he held me together.” Levi clapped him hard on both his arms as they separated. “Don’t you keep him from doing his job, though, I understand you haven’t fucked in five years but he has a job to do.”

“I can’t make any promises.” Jean ran a loving hand over Marco’s cheek, pressing against his lover’s touch.

“Mmhm.” Levi gathered his paperwork and the red bag that had been left on the top of the desk before addressing them once more. “Do a check over the horses and then you are more than welcome to go home. You won’t be late tomorrow will you?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Levi.” Marco stood, the pair following him out of the office. Levi handed him the office key before they parted ways, Levi retrieved Mike from the stall he had been placed in earlier that day and mounted him for the travel home.

Levi, with help from a few townspeople, made his way to the Town Hall and dropped off his earlier paperwork before Mike led them down the road to their home. Levi put the horse in the pasture before fishing the key to his home out of his pocket and opened the door, letting himself in to get a feel for his new place of residence.

“Beautiful.” Levi let the word ghost from his mouth when he took in the home that was presented to him.

The inside of the home gave Levi the sense of welcoming that he had never had before, one that was both inviting and so overly loving that it almost made him stop walking through the studio layout of the front of the house. To the right as he stepped through the door he could see a kitchen, full equipped with a large pantry, fridge, ice chest, stove/grill, large sink with the window in front of it to face the ocean, and a nice sized kitchen table; the pantry was filled to the brim with dry good and canned vegetables, along with the dishes from his old home and many more that were new to him. Directly to the left was a large living room, inside of it was a long couch, short table, and a large green carpet stretched out in front of one of the biggest fire places Levi had seen inside of a home before. There was short hallway that extended past the living room, as Levi followed it he first came to an office room that had two mahogany desks in it, sitting directly facing each other and the walls were lined with bookshelves that were filled to the brim with books that Levi instantly recognized from the many times he had read them in the past.

“One room left.” Levi turned from the office to the room directly across finding its door to be shut. The entire house had been painted a clean white color, which Levi appreciated and was decorated with a Survey Corps tapestry in the living room and a few pictures of his friends in the kitchen, but the bedroom was a different view entirely.

When Levi pushed the bedroom open, his eyes were captured by deep red walls and the large, white canopy-post bed in the middle of the room that had a window behind it, its linens a bright white against the dark walls with curtains of the same color against the window, on either side of the bed Levi saw white bedside tales with simple lamps and there was also a large white dresser against the wall next to him. Levi’s eyes were then drawn to the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom and from there to the open closet door where he could see his own clothes hanging that had been brought by an earlier caravan. The one thing out of place? Levi could see a large green Survey Corps cloak draped across the bed.

“Too long…” Levi stepped forward quickly to pull the cotton close to his nose as he drew in a deep, barely lingering smell of the cloth that he had missed for the past five years, but a scent that he had never forgotten. He wrapped the green cloak around his body and took one more look at the beautiful room before stepping back into the hallway to make his way out of the house. The sun was setting and it was one thing he was not going to miss on his first day there.

Levi spent the next hour or so sitting on the grass that dipped to the beach, watching the sun slowly but surely making its way down under the water that flowed over the horizon. It shimmered against the water of the ocean, basking the mysterious unknown with the red-orange color that soon gave way to a purple-blue darkness. When the dark of night finally fell upon the Earth, it really hit Levi how tired he was and needed as much sleep before tomorrow came; Levi would leave the door unlocked for when Nile came by to bring him his suit later.

Levi took himself back inside the house and to his bedroom where he gently hung the cloak on the coat rack behind the door before ridding himself of his dirty clothes and tossing them into the hamper until he wearing nothing but the twin lockets. Levi walked into the bathroom, finding it simple but very enjoyable; the tub was very large and dipped deep into the floor but the room was painted a subtle cream color, had a single sink, and a cupboard filled with towels and rags. Levi turned the knobs of the tub until he reached the desired temperature for the water, plugged it, and took his place inside to wash his body. When he was done he pulled himself from the now lukewarm water to dry off and put on nothing but a simple shirt from the drawer of the dresser and a pair of boxers. The bed linens were heavy enough and they would keep him warm through the night.

Levi hadn’t long lowered himself into the bed and welcomed sleep before he felt the bed dip beside him, soon accompanied by the warmth of a body as it pressed against his back. What had woken him hadn’t been the bed giving in, but the tugging sound of leather straps complaining as the wearer tried to lower themselves into a position in the bed. Levi was brought even more awake when he felt a thick, heavy arm wrap around his stomach and thick scruff rub against his cheek. A familiar musk-filled scent poured into his nose and made his heart skip beats in ways that should have landed him in the hospital, but he couldn’t have been any safer than he was right now.

“You haven’t shaved in weeks.” Levi huffed out as his back was tugged hard into the chest of the large man behind him. Levi felt a gentle but long awaited kiss land on the side of his neck as the scruff scraped against his skin, followed by a puff of breath that came before a light chuckle. “Haven’t you ever heard the phrase, ‘it’s bad luck for the _groom_ to see the _groom_ the day before the wedding’?”

“Never.” The word came out in only a whisper, but it was enough to ignite a fire so deep in Levi’s body that he thought his entire being would combust right there. He turned quickly to pull the scruffy face into his hands and forced his eyes open, casting a soul-shattering glance into the endless depth of the eyes in front of him.

Levi found himself suddenly naked – except for his necklace – under the heavy blankets of the large bed but was only alone in the time it took his future husband to rid himself of his straps and clothing before joining him. They wrapped their limbs around each other and pulled their bodies so close to each other as if tomorrow wouldn’t join them enough. An eternity-long, passion filled kiss was finally shared between the two of them as hands groped almost unfamiliar skin, Levi only stopping when he felt his right upper arm brush against a warm stump and a gasp come from the man that was now situated above him.

“Erwin…” The blue eyes above him nearly swallowed him whole.

“Levi…”

“I’m sorry, did I hurt you?” Levi looked over at the bandaged appendage and brought his lips forward cautiously, not breaking eye contact with his lover to assure his movement was allowed before pressing a gentle kiss to it.

“Of course not.” Erwin leaned forward on his one elbow to capture Levi’s swollen lips in another kiss, this time pulling a moan from the smaller man’s body, one that he hadn’t heard in five years. “But that locket is very morbid.”

“Well, this way I can always keep you close when you are gone.” Levi wrapped his arms around Erwin’s neck, doing the same around the man’s waist with his legs as their hardened cocks rubbed against one another. “Mmm, five years...too long.”

“Five second is too long.” Erwin leaned back to sit on his calves and pulled Levi into his lap, running his large hand across Levi’s back and down to clutch his ass.

Levi once again grasped Erwin’s face in his hands and stared deeply into the lust-blown blues of his lover before looking down at the body he had missed so much over the past five years, a part of which had nearly broken him a year ago. Erwin chuckled, bringing Levi’s attention back up to his face once more.

_Kenny, keep Heichou company, because you can’t have him._  

“Levi Smith.” Levi felt hot tears roll over his cheeks as he kissed Erwin again. “Beautiful.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT IS FINALLY FINISHED! I. AM. FREE.
> 
> I want to thank you guys so much for sticking through to the end of the stroy and i hope you are as pleased with the ending as I am. Please feel free to leave as much comment or questions that you many have below and you are more than welcome to follow me on Tumblr as killjoyjuniper. 
> 
> See you guys in the next story!!


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